- Not a single student approaches wing for any kind of help or assistance; Over 11 crore rupees wasted in the name of student counseling
In an apparent bid to stop further drain of the public money, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has now decided closure of the Education Wing in the Pakistan Consulate in Birmingham city of Britain, it is learnt reliably.
The Education Wing was opened for the first time ever on April 11, 2013 under special circumstances, fundamentally to facilitate medical treatment of Mala Yousafzai in Birmingham. Malala’s father Ziauddin Yousafzai was appointed as the education attache.
However, since the establishment of this wing not a single student approached the wing for any kind of help or assistance, while above 11 crore rupees worth amount has been wasted in the name of student counseling. Also, Yousafzai’s service contract coming to an end on April 11, 2017.
Taking cognizance of the wastage of precious public money, the ministry has now requested the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination to take necessary steps to close down the education wing and advise their staff to prepare to return to Pakistan. “The (Pakistan) consulate (in Birmingham) will extend all possible assistance in the closure of the education wing,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a letter dated February 22, 2017.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry said that financially, education wing was a drain on public money with no foreseeable benefit. The monthly expenditure being incurred on its maintenance is around PKRs 1,670,136 (£ 15,000) with no utility or value for the public money. “Since April 2013, there hasn’t been a single student related case requiring any kind of help or assistance from the wing or for that matter the consulate,” the ministry said.
It is relevant to mention here that systems in Britain are so well streamlined that there is hardly ever a need of help or assistance from the missions for their students. And, the ministry said the consulate services were sufficient should a need ever arise to help or assist Pakistani students. “Need of education wing does not exist,” according to the letter – a copy of which is available with Pakistan Today.
Historically, Birmingham never had a post of education attache and as per the Foreign Affairs Ministry the post was never needed. The ministry also said that there were not more than around 35 Pakistani students in those universities. “For entire West Midlands and Wales i-e our (catchment area, their number is less than 100. Number of college students is almost negligible,” it said.
“There are two other consulates besides ours in Birmingham i-e Bangladesh and India. And, a number of students from their respective countries also study in West Midlands and Wales. Neither of the consulates has ever had an education wing,” the letter said.