Higher education institutions: PPP MNA expresses concern over defence minister’s remarks in NA

KARACHI: Nafisa Shah, a member of the National Assembly (MNA) from the Pakistan Peoples Party, expressed her grave concern over the derogatory remarks made by Minister of Defence Khawaja Asif against all Vice Chancellors during the recent National Assembly session.

Shah emphasized the significant potential repercussions of these remarks on Pakistan's higher education institutions, both within the country and on a global scale. She further highlighted the detrimental impact these remarks could have on the prospects and future careers of the thousands of students currently studying in these institutions.

She mentioned the previous incident involving the Minister for Aviation, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, in which he made a sweeping statement about pilots' degrees, resulting in the grounding of our national airlines. In light of this, she stated that the Vice Chancellors of Sindh have demanded a public apology from the minister. Furthermore, they have urged the Speaker to expunge these derogatory remarks from the official record.

She expressed her hope that the minister would retract his statement as per the demand made by the Vice-Chancellors of Sindh in their letter. Nafisa Shah further highlighted the challenging financial circumstances under which Vice-Chancellors are currently operating, emphasizing the limited funding provided by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) from the federal government. She pointed out that public universities in Sindh would face significant hardship if the Government of Sindh did not provide full support to them.

She emphasized the responsibility of office-bearers to show respect towards institutions, highlighting that as responsible individuals, it is crucial to respect civilian institutions, including universities. She drew a parallel with the unanimous condemnation of the attacks on institutions that occurred on May 9, underscoring the equal importance of respecting and supporting civilian institutions, particularly universities.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023