Punjab Students Convention 2004: 'government attaches priority to education and research'

Punjab Governor Lieutenant General Khalid Maqbool (Retd) has said the Pakistan could compete with the world through hard work, strong conviction, commitment and devotion. While addressing the Punjab Students' Convention 2004, here on Thursday he said the government was attaching priority to education sector and facilitating research work and provision of quality education in the educational institutions. 'The policies evolved by the government have started benefiting the masses', he said.
The students would be on the loosing end if they allowed aggression in the universities, therefore, they must concentrate on their education, he added.
Punjab Minister for Education Mian Imran Masood, Advisor to Chief Minister Dr Sadia Chaudhry, vice-chancellor Punjab University Lieutenant General Arshad Mahmood, Secretary Education and other officers of Education Department also attended the function. Faculty members and students of public and private sector universities of the province were also present.
The governor maintained 10 to 12 industrial organisations had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which they would help public sector universities in building and setting up various new faculties and institutes.
Recognising the role of private sector, he said without private sector's involvement, the government alone could not enhance literacy rate. Though, social justice could not be provided to every citizen, yet the world perceived Pakistan had strategic and geo-political importance without which the goal of lasting peace could not be achieved in the South Asian region, he said.
The students must not feel desperate if issues like National Finance Commission, royalty of gas and construction of big dams were not resolved, as decisions in that regard were to be taken by technical experts. Presently, the European countries were also facing disintegration, while insurgency had been seen in many of the Indian provinces, he maintained, the governor remarked.
He further said that as a matter of fact, Pakistan appeared to be most united country on the world scenario, as every Pakistani had liberty to go any place in the country and start business, he observed.
Speaking on the occasion, Mian Imran Masood said the government wanted to provide education and other facilities to the people of far-flung areas of the province. But, the biggest problem was that most of the students left their studies at early stages. The students' drop out ratio was considerably high in the Punjab province as compared to the rest of the world. Around 9 million students were enrolled every year, while only one million students could reach to the high level of their studies. The drop out of 8 million students was quite alarming and measures must be taken to redress that problem, and enhance enrolment at the university level. Out of every 100 female students, only 10 students could reach to the high school level, he added.
The Minister further said their educational institutions were lacking basic facilities including furniture, building and other equipment. The provincial budget could not meet the budgetary requirement of 370 colleges of the province; hence private sector had to play its role in that regard. The public sector universities and colleges were imparting quality education, he added.
To promote education standard in the province, the government had increased teachers' salaries and allowed promotions, he maintained. He also emphasised the need for carrying out research in the universities.
Meanwhile, the Governor distributed certificates and prizes among the participating students.