Higher education is a federal issue: Prof Atta

Former Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) Prof Dr Attaur Rahman has said that the HEC cannot be setup at provincial level as the said sort of commission is being run at the federal level in various countries of the world.
“A very small fiscal budget is being spent in the higher education sector of the country, despite the fact that progress in higher education is linked with the development of any country. Contrary to Pakistan, India has allocated Indian rupees 900 billion for higher education sector in its next five years plan. The generous support of Aziz Latif Jamal, which is Rs 50 million, for the setup of Latif Ebrahim Jamal (LEJ) Research Institute of Nanotechnology in International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), Karachi University (KU) is a positive sign,” he said, while speaking at a press conference, held at KU ICCBS on the occasion of the beginning of the construction work of the LEJ Research Institute of Nanotechnology here on Monday.
The press conference was also addressed by Advisor to Sindh Governor Aftab Lodhi, KU ICCBS Director Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, Husein Ebrahim Jamal (HEJ) Foundation Chairman Aziz Latif Jamal and KU Science Faculty Dean Prof Shahana Urooj Kazmi. Prof Atta said that in Turkey, India and other similar countries, the higher education was a matter usually handled by the federal government all over the world, as there were many problems at the provincial level to run the said system effectively.
He said, “Nanotechnology is having a major influence in the development of previous fields of science, technology and engineering, including pharmaceuticals, natural sciences, biotechnology, agriculture and industry. The nanotechnology institute was being constructed under the direct supervision of Aziz Latif. Aftab Lodhi said that Sindh Governor Dr Ishartul Ibad Khan had sent a special message of greetings on this historical occasion.
He said the governor appreciated the monumental contributions of the HEJ Foundation for the promotion of health, education, science and technology in Pakistan. Aziz Latif said that HEJ Foundation was serving the nation to the best of its abilities. “The Foundation had played a key role in the establishment of the world famous Husien Ebrahim Jamal Research Institute of Chemistry at the KU, which has tremendous recognition for Pakistan in the field of chemical and biochemical science, including Islamic Development Bank Prize for Best Science Institution in the OIC region. The HEJ Founndation has also established the largest digital library in this region, namely the Latif Ebrahim Jamal National Science Information Centre. This facility has access to over 31,000 science journals and over 60,000 books from 220 international publishers,” he said. Prof Iqbal Choudhary said that nanotechnology had found use in many fields, including manufacturing of new diagnostics, medicines, agrochemicals, defence products, engineering goods etcetera. He said, “The modern facility of the LEJ Centre will have a two storey state of the art building with ten large laboratories, central instrument room, dedicated library, faculty rooms, seminar and meetings rooms, central workshop and pilot plant. Nanotechnology is having a major influence in the development of previous fields of science, technology and engineering.”
Prof Shahana Urooj Kazmi said that the establishment of the institute was the need of the hour, and HEJ Foundation had played a vital role in this regard. She thanked Aziz Latif for his continuous support for the development of the university.