15,000 students will be sent to foreign universities

As many as 15,000 Pakistani students would be sent to foreign universities for higher education during the next eight years, Professor Atta-ur-Rahman, Chairman Higher Education Commission said on Tuesday. The objective was to train Pakistani youth in basic sciences, applied sciences, entrepreneurship and innovation, he said while making a presentation to the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development here. Professor Atta pointed out that Pakistan had chalked out a higher education plan focused on developing the faculty, infrastructure, linkages to the economy and quality assurance.
He said in order to create necessary environment for integrating science and technology into the development strategy, government had made free digital access available to 17,000 full text international journals at all universities in Pakistan. Free access had also been made available to sophisticated instrumentation, centralised instrumentation facilities, besides availability of trained technicians and scholarships to students.
Professor Atta-ur-Rehman, who is also the Co-ordinator General of COMSTECH made two presentations to the UN Commission as part of two panels that included Nobel Laureates and the Minister of Science and Technology from Lesotho.
He highlighted the efforts made by the Government of Pakistan for the development of science and technology and higher education as an engine of growth.
He appreciated that President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz were extending full support to the development of science and technology and higher education.
Pakistan had increased its budget for science and technology by 6000percent and its higher education budget by 1,200percent with the objective of building a knowledge economy for development.
Atta was part of a panel that included Nobel Laureates Professor Jerome Karle of UK and Professor Richard Ernst of Switzerland and Minister of Communications, Science and Technology of Lesotho.
The theme of the panels was 'Science and Technology promotion, advice and application for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration'.
Of his two presentations, one focussed on "Science and Technology: Imperative for socio-economic development" in Pakistan and the second on "Higher Education, Science & Technology - Building a Knowledge Economy" in Pakistan.