State Minister for Federal Education and Professional Trainings Muhammad Balighur Rehman said that businessmen were highly respectable segment of the society as they were creating jobs and playing a key role in economic development of the country.
The minister said this while addressing business community at the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry. FPCCI President Abdul Rauf and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) Chief Executive SM Munir were also present at the occasion.
He said that the government was making strenuous efforts for creating a conducive environment to facilitate the growth of business and investment activities. The government had arranged LNG from Qatar while work was in progress on TAPI & IP projects in addition to construction of dams to overcome energy problem, he added. He said with the efforts of the government measurable difference was visible in key areas of the economy while the country was getting positive ratings from international agencies and many foreign investors were looking at Pakistan with great interest.
Balighur Rehman said low taxation was the major cause of insufficient allocation of budget for education, however, the government was determined to increase education budget up to three per cent of the GDP taking it up to four per cent by 2018 as developing human capital was the central pillar of its policy. He said technical and vocational education was their key focus and the government had formulated the first-ever National Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Policy 2015 to cater to the needs of industrial sector. He said ultimate aim of their efforts was to transform Pakistan into a knowledge economy.
The minister said that grants were given to the HEC to promote academia-industry linkages. As many as 18,000 schools were established under the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) to promote literacy in far-flung areas of the country with plans to increase them up to 50,000, he added. He stressed upon the business community to take ownership of such schools under their CSR activities and contribute to promotion of education in the country.
Speaking on the occasion, TDAP Chief Executive SM Munir and FPCCI President Abdul Rauf stressed that the government should give high priority to education and allocate at least five per cent of GDP to this sector in order to turn the youth bulge into a great dividend for the country. They said strong academia-industry linkages were imperative for sustainable economic development of the country and the government should take strong measures to strengthen collaboration, coordination and mutual support between these two important sectors of the economy.
Appreciating the federal government’s efforts to modernise 26 schools in Islamabad, they stressed that all the government schools in the country should be modernised on similar lines to improve the quality of education in public sector. They urged that more technical, vocational education and training centers should be opened in the country and curriculum of such institutions should be finalised in consultation with trade bodies that would help in producing skilled and trained manpower for the industry. They said the business community was already patronising many students and it would continue to contribute to this noble cause for supporting the deserving talented students.