Sunday, January 21, 2007
Shaukat calls for modern education
KARACHI: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz stressed on Saturday the need for a stronger, more vibrant and modern education system based on sound foundations in order to successfully compete with the world.
ââ¬ÅThe modern world has witnessed unprecedented advances in science and technology, therefore our education must keep abreast of these developments,ââ¬Â he said, speaking as the chief guest at a ceremony held at Governor House for the foundation stone-laying of an extension in the existing building of the Institute of Business and Technology (BIZTEK).
Aziz said that the countryââ¬â¢s educational system had a generalist orientation and needed to gravitate towards vocational training to equip students with technical and managerial skills. This would help create the necessary linkages between educational attainment and the job market. ââ¬ÅWe are paying particular attention to the governance and management aspects of education, particularly by involving communities,ââ¬Â he said. The thrust of the governmentââ¬â¢s strategy was to improve the quality and accessibility of higher education, particularly science and technology, as it was a direct contributor to economic development, he stated.
Pointing out that today, Pakistan did not have a single world class university or one that was ranked among the top in the world, the prime minister said that the government had embarked upon an ambitious plan of establishing nine world class universities in collaboration with highly advanced countries such as Germany, Sweden, France, Austria, Japan, South Korea and Italy, and said that they wanted the private sector to play a pivotal role in these efforts.
He termed people as the biggest asset of Pakistan and said that the Pakistani mind was as competitive and productive as any other in the world. He laid special emphasis on investing in knowledge and said that the government was investing in education to transform the country into a state that was ready for future needs. The curriculum and syllabus must conform to the present and future needs of the country and teaching of English should start from grade one.
Aziz said that the government was looking after the needs of the industry and market. Referring to the shortage of trained drivers and hotel workers in the Middle East and other countries, he said that trained people from Pakistan could meet the demand.
ââ¬ÅToday,ââ¬Â he said, ââ¬ÅI give a challenge to the director of BIZTEK to further develop his institute and bring it among the top ten business schools of Asia and the world.ââ¬Â
Referring to the need for gender balance in education, he said it is yet another area requiring focus as the country could not progress unless women were given due opportunities. He said that a good number of students were being sent abroad for their PhD and Masters in the worldââ¬â¢s best universities and upon return, they would be a valuable human capital.
BIZTEK Chancellor Noman Lakhani highlighted the present and future programmes of the institute while the board of governors vice chairman Col Tahir Hussain presented the welcome address. app
Engg uni with French assistance to start by September
KARACHI: A world class engineering university is being set up in collaboration with the French government. The university would start functioning by September 2007, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Saturday. Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the expansion of BIZTEK held at the Governor House, Aziz said that the French-supported university would have a total enrolment of 5,000 students and would be set up on 150 acres of land belonging to the Pakistan Marine Academy.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\01\21\story_21-1-2007_pg12_1