Govt committed to prioritize education sector: President

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday said the government was committed to accord priority to the education sector and the concept of compulsory free education as enshrined in the 18th amendment to improve literacy rate in Pakistan was a clear manifestation of our resolve. Educated and trained human resource was the real wealth of a nation, he said and added that institutions of higher learning and Universities played an important role in producing this national wealth. The President expressed these views during his meeting with the Association of Private Universities and Institutes of Pakistan (APUIP) here in the Aiwan-e-Sadr. He called upon the representatives of private universities and institutions in Pakistan to play their role in equipping the students with steel armour to win the battle of life. It is reassuring that the private sector has also stepped forward and is playing a commendable role in producing quality graduates, he added. Those who were present during the meeting included Dr. Asim Hussain, President APUIP, Khalid Amin, Vice President APUIP, Syed Ali Abbas Abidi, General Secretary of the association, Chancellor Iqra University Hunaid Lakhani, Executive Director CBM Talib Karim, Vice Chancellor Hamdard University Dr. Nasim Ahmed, Chancellor KASBIT Arif Bokhari, President Indus Institute of Higher Education Muhammad Ahmed Amin, Rector FAST Dr. Aamir Muhammad, Syed Asad Hussain Director SZABIST Islamabad Campus, Salman Faruqui, Secretary General to the President, Secretary Education Imtiaz Hussain Kazi, Secretary Planning and Development M. Ashraf Hayat and Spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar. Sardar Aseff Ahmad Ali, Adviser to Prime Minister on Education was also present during the meeting. The President while appreciating the role, played by the private sector in education sector, he said that the Government was encouraging the private sector so that it should be able to complement the public sector. The President said, “let us work together to give our children their basic right to education thus creating a promising future for them so that they could contribute towards socio-economic development of the country”. President Zardari informed that efforts were also underway to improve education of science and engineering and develop a culture of need based research.