Nine engineering universities to be established soon: Maqbool

Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool on Monday said that nine engineering universities would be established in Punjab and other provinces with the co-operation of developed countries.
Talking to a private TV channel he said, these engineering universities, six in Punjab and three in other provinces, would be built at a cost of Rs nine billion.
He said, it would not only improve the standard of education in the country but also help boost the industrial sector, adding these public universities would be equipped to compete with private sector universities.
Khalid Maqbool said, "Now our universities are preparing 5,000 PHDs, and 2,800 of them belong to Punjab. We also had established faculty training centres," he added.
He said, economy is top priority of the government and steps being taken in this regard are positively affecting the economy. Continuity in policies is necessary for the development of the country, he added.
Investment friendly policies are attracting foreign investors to Pakistan as they know it is profitable to make investment, he added. The Governor said, as far as privatisation is concerned top companies of the world are interested in buying assets in Pakistan.
He said, "it is a big success of Pakistan that we are making progress in higher education and the number of universities has now risen from 8 to 17. We are giving an education which should meet the needs of our economy," he added. Khalid Maqbool said they would create linkages of universities with industry to give boost to this vital sector.
Punjab government is giving loans to small industries and industrial zones in Multan, Sialkot and Gujranwala would be developed soon, he added. He said, the present era is of knowledge based economy and research in universities is of utmost importance to meet new challenges.
He further said there would be no future for Pakistan without dams and these are necessary for every province, adding the government is determined to construct Kalabagh dam after developing consensus on it. "Our preference is that our economy grows strong and brings some relief in the lives of the poor," he added. He said, the government has plans to bring about a white revolution by encouraging investment and skills training in the dairy sector.