Chairman NetSol Technologies Limited, Salim Ghauri has urged the government to open more Information Technology (IT) universities in the country. In a statement issued on Wednesday, he said there was a time when medicine and engineering were considered only viable options for students pursuing higher education.
However, degrees in business, IT, media and arts were now are in vogue, as students pursue jobs that pay well. Attractive and lucrative packages in these disciplines, particularly in IT industry due to widening dollar-rupee parity, were alluring great number of youngsters and there was a need to establish IT universities in the country.
Ghauri also appreciated the role of Higher Education Commission (HEC) in catering the different choices in education pursued by students within the last decade and said a change in education policy has played vital role, as the HEC extended licences to 84 universities throughout the country since 2000, with an emphasis on developing disciplines that were not explored before. He said this shift in national policy has helped in development of new industries since late 1990s.
He further said the number of institutions catering to higher education, especially in information technology and business had increased from 18 to 78 in 1998 since steps were taken to improve higher education system. He also appreciated the government for encouraging students for international scholarship programmes, leading to a sea change in IT industry of Pakistan.
Since 2000, he said, around 16 universities were set up in Karachi, Out of which two are not operational and four are being run by the government while the rest are being run privately. He said it was a matter of great satisfaction that most of them cater to students who wish to pursue degrees in IT, commerce, business studies and fine arts.