President Asif Ali Zardari called for focused attention on developing primary education facilities, saying "it was not merely a matter of education but also of national survival, development and security in the long run". He said during his meeting with the delegation of Task Force on Education here at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Wednesday.
The members of the delegation included among others Shahnaz Wazir Ali, SAPM, Adam Thomson, UK High Commissioner, Nehnaz Aziz, Dr Fareeha Zafar, Rachid Benmessaoud, Country Director World Bank, David Taylor, Deputy Head of Programmes DFID, Dr Philip Powell Davies, Senior Human Development Advisor, Dr Warren Mellor, Director UNESCO Islamabad, Atussa Ziai, Education Advisor GTS and Katie Donohoe, Acting Director USAID Islamabad.
Sardar Asseff Ahmed Ali, Minister for Education, M Salman Faruqui, Secretary General to the President, Imtiaz Kazi, Secretary Education, Sibtain Fazal Haleem, Secretary EAD and Spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar were also present during the meeting.
The President said that the government attaches great importance to the development of education sector and is focusing on not only bringing about qualitative change in the education sector but also extending the network of education institutions and eliminating ghost institutions. He said that the assistance of the international community was greatly needed in this regard.-PR