ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training Muhammad Balighur Rehman has said that the incumbent government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy to deal with drug mafias and terrorism in educational institutions, and all universities were strictly advised to keep a vigilant eye on any such activity in the university premises.
Speaking at an event organised to celebrate academic excellence of Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) in higher education here on Wednesday, the minister said that the university deserved all the appreciations to cross into the top 500 universities in the recently released report by the ‘Times Higher Education World University Rankings’.
He said that it was a great achievement for the country because there was not even a single university among the top universities in Asia during 2006. He added that the QAU is also the leading university of the country in Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) ranking.
“Education is a top priority of the government and it could be judged from the fact that the number of out-of-school children decreased from 2.6 million to 2.4 million during Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) regime,” he said, and added that every child should get education at least up to intermediate level, which is also the mandate of the UN.
About encroachment of the university land, the minister said that none of the PML-N leaders were involved in the illegal encroachment, vowing that the matter was in the court, and if they were found guilty, they would have vacated the land already.
Speaking on the occasion, QAU Vice Chancellor (VC) Dr Javed Ashraf said that he felt immensely proud to be the VC of such a prestigious educational institute which is the only university of the country ranked among the top 500 universities in the world.
He also said that there was a complete ban on all students unions in the university and no one would be allowed ever again to form a student organisation.
“The university is facing numerous problems, which were brought to the notice of the high-ups including the prime minister, president, ministers and Islamabad mayor, but of no good,” he lamented.
He said that the land grabbers encroached upon the university land and revealed that a renowned politician built a house on it. But the VC expressed optimism saying that the education minister would help vacate the university land from the encroachers.