Minister of Education Muhammad Baligh ur Rehman, on Friday, said that the government was in the process of establishing two teachers training institutes in the capital; one for conventional education and the other for non-formal education and adult literacy.
Speaking as chief guest at 21st convocation ceremony of Bilqees Postgraduate College for Women, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Nur Khan, he said that education sector was among the top priorities of the government and it had witnessed historic increase in the amount of public spending in his tenure.
The minister congratulated the students on their achievements and advised them to develop the habit of achieving excellence in whatever they do; whether it concerns their personal or professional life.
“You must all strive for continuous improvement in your life and adopt perseverance to achieve your goals; patience and consistency will earn you sustainable positive outcomes”, he said.
He also advised students to keep away from negativity in life and approach hurdles and challenges through positive attitude.
“Every one of us has challenges and difficulties in life but only those who are optimistic embark on a progressive path and excel in their careers”, Minister said.
Highlighting the importance of education for females, he said that educating women was equivalent to educating the entire nation.
On government’s achievements, the minister said that when PML (N) came to power in 2013, international media, observers, economic journals and rating agencies had declared Pakistan one of the most unfavorable and business unfriendly countries.
“Terrorism incidents were on the rise, industries were shifting abroad, extended hours of load shedding had become routine; now, after 4 years, we see record numbers of new businesses being registered in the country; load shedding has ended for industrial consumers and would soon be eliminated entirely”, he said.
“Through the sacrifices of our armed forces, peace has been restored and terrorists are on the run. Today, all think tanks and international observers were talking about a rising Pakistan”, he said.
The minister said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was the largest investment partnership project between any two countries in the world and it would benefit the nation’s youth with abundant career opportunities.
Minister further said that the tax-to-GDP ratio of the country had also increased considerably, providing the fiscal space for further development and spending on education and health.
“Over the past three years, rate of enrollment in schools has increased phenomenally and infrastructure facilities have also improved” he said.
He said that the government was placing great emphasis on higher education and research and their tenure has increase the budget for higher education institutions to more than double from Rs41 bn to Rs92 bn.
The teachers training institute for non-formal education and adult literacy was planned to be built in collaboration with UNESCO and it would serve the entire region.
Bilqees Postgraduate College for Women was imparting teachers training and general education at Masters and M. Phil level under the patronage of Pakistan Air Force Women’s Association (PAFWA).
The college was established in 1984, initially as a teacher training institution, but over the years it has expanded itself to offer other general education programmes for women as well.
