Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Thursday announced upward revision of pay-scales of university teachers by one notch and that of school teachers by two grades from BPS 9 to 11, as an acknowledgement of their critical role in nation-building.
The prime minister made the announcement at the third "Salam Teacher Day" where he also awarded certificates to outstanding teachers from across the country.
Shaukat said the entry level pay-scales of graduate school teachers will be upgraded to BPS 11, while that of college and university teachers, those who meet certain performance criterion, will move one grade up, amidst a thunderous applause.
"Teachers are our national asset and play a vital role in building future generations," the prime minister said.
He said education and economic development of a country were intricately linked as it opened new avenues, allowing people to make informed choices.
He described the teachers as a "linchpin" of the education system and said they were always ready to take care of the needs of their students by imparting quality education.
The theme of this year's day was - quality teachers for quality education.
He also noted their role in preparing the new generation that has all the qualities of being well groomed, educated in their respected fields and having a tolerant and flexible attitude towards others.
Giving a detailed view of his vision and philosophy, the prime minister called for inclusion of extra-curricular and social-cultural activities that were essential for character-building and a well-rounded personality.
"I therefore urge our teachers to focus on this wider concept of education and keep a healthy balance between academic pursuits, between natural and social sciences ... between secular learning and religious education."
PM said religious education was very important in building a strong character and added that the progress of a society depended on its value system.
He said Islam was a complete code of life and taught tolerance and inter-faith harmony, social justice, respect for human rights and a peaceful co-existence.
The prime minister also asked the teachers to keep abreast of advances in science and technology and said the curricula must respond to the rapid economic and technological changes besides reflect religious, cultural and ideological heritage.
The prime minister said the challenges confronting the teachers and expectations from them were many.
"War, illiteracy, poverty, social injustice and intolerance haunt us," the prime minister said and added that the teachers were called upon to respond to these challenges and help the humanity steer clear of these scourges.
Shaukat called for equipping students with technical and managerial skills, besides disseminating learning of English as a tool of modern learning.
"There is no need to get emotional, our mother tongue can never change and will stay with us, but we also have to progress and be able to reach out to the world."
The prime minister stressed the need of providing female access to education and said despite the progress much more needs to be done.
He said the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) emphasised the value of learning and asked to seek knowledge, even if one has to go to China, that was a far off place in those times.
"I call upon the teachers to give their best to the students. Teachers should act as agents of change, spearhead the process of reform and be on the forefront of the nation's progress," he added.
The prime minister later presented the Best Teacher Awards and 35 teachers from all over the country, including AJK, Northern Areas and Fata.
Minister for Education Lieutenant General Ashraf Qazi (retd) said the economic progress made by the country has helped generate more funds that were now available for the education sector.
He said the ministry was focusing on providing quality training to the teachers and to enable them meet requirements of the new curricula.
Qazi said under the new scheme of studies English, science and mathematics will be taught from class-I in English and the switch over to the new system will complete in five years.
This will do away with the current differentiation between English and Urdu medium schools, he added.
He said curricula of ten major subjects was being revised and said it will be one of the best in the world.
"We have had sub-standard education in the past, but now we have to be competitive, learn English and other technical subjects."
The minister also handed over a copy of the country's first ever education census to the prime minister, that has identified 9,000 ghost schools.
It also notes that only 1.2 percent of government schools imparted education in English, while 18 percent imparted it in regional languages and the rest were in Urdu.
Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, Chairman Higher Education Commission said for the first time the universities were being linked together with close collaboration on research.
He said 4,500 lectures from MIT were being lined up for video conferencing with 20 Pakistani universities.
Dr Nasim Ashraf Chairman National Commission for Human Development said the organisation was providing a fast track initiative to support government's efforts in educating the masses.
He said 50,000 literacy centres would be set up in 100 districts in five years to meet the 'Education For All' target.
Besides Minister of State for Education Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli a large number educationists and senior teachers attended the event.
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