Education budget will be increased to 4 percent

Gilani said that the government would achieve its goals
Islamabad, Jan 27: The government has asked the Planning Commission to increase the budgetary allocation for education to four percent of the Gross National Product (GNP) in three years, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Monday.

He was addressing the awards ceremony of International Conference on Medical Education organised by Riphah International University in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission and Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.

"I am glad to share with you that the PPP government accords top priority to education and we plan to allocate maximum resources towards this end," the prime minister said.

Gilani said that the government would achieve its goals through appropriate use of information technology and research and development networking.

Continuing education was directly linked to the quality of research in a country and that of its products, Gilani said. "It is only through an ongoing quality assurance system that we can safeguard public interests and standards of higher education," he said.

The prime minister called for institutional audits and "universal Islamic ethical and moral values" to ensure qualitative targets of higher education are met.

Most of Pakistan's population is young, he said, and added proper academic training could help bring a "scientific revolution" in the country.

"The role of private universities in this sense is as important as that of public universities and they should get full support from the Higher Education Commission and other regulatory bodies," he said. Comprehensive and target-oriented progress required Pakistanis to "learn not only from the west but also from the east", Gilani said. Daily Times

Education a low-key affair
Vehari: Renovation and maintenance of buildings of educational institutions have never been a priority of any government, democratic or non-democratic; the agenda on educational front has ever been a common feature at least.

The Government Boys MC School at D-Block in Vehari is a paradigm of neglect and mismanagement of the education department as it has been functioning in a dilapidated building for the last few years. Cold and apathetic was the response of the authorities concerned every occasion they were reminded of their responsibility to fulfill their duty.

The building was constructed in 1969 for the municipal library which was converted into a school in 1976. In 2001, the school was handed over to the district government. In 2005, the school building was declared dangerous for further use. Recently, some parts of the school boundary wall were collapsed, but the district administration paid no heed despite sending reminders to District Coordination Officer Khurram Agah.

The DCO said the district government would construct the collapsed boundary wall in a few days besides providing all facilities to the school.

Headmaster Tariq Mahmood said the school had been upgraded to middle level in April 2002, but the district government had still not sanctioned the required strength of teachers and the staff.

He said the district government did not provide any funds for the repair of the building while only Rs2,000 provided annually for the whitewash and stationery had been stopped for the last two years for some unknown reason.

Mr Mahmood said over 250 students were enrolled and the school showed 100 per cent result every year despite shortage of staff and other facilities. Since 2001, no furniture was either purchased or repaired which forced 50 per cent students to take lessons on mats.

He said recently school's 5th class student Ghulam Murtaza clinched first position in the tehsil-level essay writing competition. The headmaster appealed to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to look into the matter. Dawn

Post your comments

HEC reviews curriculum on environment
Islamabad: The curriculum of Environmental Sciences should be revised not only to develop human resource to fulfil the market needs but also to develop environment friendly citizens.

This was stated by Professor Dr. Riaz-ul-Haq Tariq, member academics, Higher Education Commission while addressing to the preliminary meeting of the National Curriculum Revision Committee (NCRC) of HEC on Environmental Science which was held at HEC Regional Centre to revise the curriculum for BS four years degree Programme in the discipline.

Professor Tariq, sharing his academics experiences with the committee members, further said that education is a need of every society and it is the system of education, which devices curriculum to provide desirable experiences.

Curriculum and instruction provide flesh to the skeleton of the goals and aims of education. Curriculum development is a continuous process in which choices of learning experiences are made and activated through coordinated activities, he added.

Professor Dr. Shafiqur Rehman of Peshawar University and Dr. Khalid Farooq Akbar of G C University Faisalabad acted as Convener and Secretary of the committee respectively. Muhammad Tahir Ali Shah, Assistant Director (Curriculum) of Higher Education Commission, Islamabad coordinated the meeting and briefed the participants about HEC's template of curriculum revision for four years BS degree programme.

Post your comments

Beaconhouse conference held
Islamabad: Young leaders of our future clashed words, drafted resolutions and amidst it all have great fun at the Intra-Beaconhouse Model United Nations Conference 2009, which was held at the Beaconhouse, Bani Gala campus, says a press release.

The three-day event, with over 45 teams coming from around the region, and having 11 committees, boasted a Global Village, a 'Mela' and a formal dinner. Secretary General Ahmad Shoaib and Director General Maha Aman Malik along with the management of the Beaconhouse School System, Riffat Arif, Ayesha Sohail extended a hand of warm welcome towards everyone at the opening ceremony.

The 'Mela' turned out to be great fun, be it the screams of excitement coming from the Ferris Wheel or the smiling faces at the Donkey Cart Photo Area. The closing ceremony was graced by Senior Research Fellow Dr. A. H. Nayyar, who distributed the outstanding delegate awards to the delegates displaying immaculate diplomacy in both speech and manner. Although the rain managed to limit certain plans that the host team had initially laid out, the overall Intra-BMUN spirit remained as high as ever.

Maths contest for students held
Peshawar: Pak-Turk School & College, in collaboration with the NWFP Elementary and Secondary Education Department, organised a mathematics contest here Monday. A press release said 1,400 students of class V and VIII from the government and private schools participated in the contest.

Pak-Turk School's principal Serhat Demir inaugurated the contest, which was lauded by the educationists and parents of the students as a healthy exercise. They said such kind of contests should be held in order to polish the talent of the students.

Addressing on the occasion, Elementary and Secondary Education Project Director Raja Saad said participation by students in the event clearly indicated the success of the exercise. "Such kind of curricular activities will be conducted in the future as it would help the students improve their talent," he added.

Highlighting the significance of the mathematics, Serhat Demir said the results would be announced on February 9 and successful candidates be awarded cash prizes and certificates, while result cards would be dispatched to their schools. The News

Post your comments