—–Education budget less than money reserved for Orange Line project
Effective utilisation of human resources through a quality education is a proven way to progress and prosperity in modern times, said former Federal Minister and Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Atta-ur-Rehman.
He expressed these views while addressing the participants of distinguished lecture series entitled: “Science, Technology and Innovation: imperatives for socio-economic development” held in University of Karachi Social Sciences Auditorium on Thursday.
Professor Emeritus Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, who is the recipient of various prestigious national and international awards, began his talk by comparing the GDP, the economic growth rate of Singapore and China with Pakistan and attributed their development to the effective utilisation of human resources through quality education.
He said that it is unfortunate that the exports of Pakistan are only 22 billion dollars because Pakistan is not exporting technology and value-added goods.
He lamented the limited budget spent on education, science and technology in the country which is less than the amount spent on constructing Orange Line in Lahore.
He reinforced the importance of developing research culture by providing incentives to the faculty members and students.
He lamented that instead of the mushroom growth of the universities, emphasis should be on ensuring quality control and standard education to the students.
Dr AttaUr Rehman shared some of the steps that were taken by the HEC under his chairmanship when eleven thousand students were sent abroad for higher studies.
He also talked about the rigorous steps that were taken by the HEC in terms of ranking universities to develop a spirit of competition among them, although he lamented the dramatic decline of the HEC in the recent years.
