Quality education imperative for sustained economic development: PM

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Saturday said promotion of quality education was imperative for sustained economic progress and eradication of extremism, and responsibility rested on universities and colleges to prepare students for the upcoming challenges in that regard.
He was addressing a function here after inaugurating the women campus of Kohat University of Science and Technology (KUST).
Prime Minister Abbasi also performed the ground-breaking of mega infrastructure development projects, including dualization of 128-kilometer section of Sarai Gambila-Kohat Road and dualization of 73-kilometer Pindi Ghab-Kohat Road, besides expansion and widening of Indus Highway that would be completed at a cost of Rs32 billion in two years.
The projects upon completion will help provide quality communication and educational facilities to the people, besides expending pace of economic development in southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
The prime minister said no nation could make progress without promotion of education, and science and technology.
He said former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif had made promise for establishing of a women campus of KUST two years ago. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had always fulfilled its promises and pledges made with the public and inauguration of the women campus was yet another pledge that was fulfilled today, he added.
The development, economic prosperity and elimination of extremism, he said, were directly linked to the provision of quality education to youth and despite education being a provincial subject now under the 18th Constitutional Amendment the federal government was making concerted efforts to help the federating units for further improving the education sector.
The prime minister said for moving forward on the path of economic progress and prosperity, “we need to have special focus on promotion of women education in the country, and educational institutes and universities have to come forward and produce quality manpower to achieve prominent position among the comity of developed nations.”
The government, he said, had brought revolution in the education sector. It made record increase in the educational budget during last fours years, besides establishing number of educational institutions, and the positive effects of which had started becoming visible now, he added.
He said education should not be taken as a static but a continuous process for which as a society all had to focus their energies to produce doctors, engineers, architects, bankers, academicians and educated work force of par excellence to meet the future challenges in a more effective way.
Prime Minister Abbasi said education should not be made a political issue rather collective efforts rising above party affiliations should be made to equip students for taking full advantage of the opportunities arisen because of China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
He said it was highly welcoming that girls and women were making immense progress in every field, including education, and were playing their constructive role in national development.
The prime minister said universities had prime responsibility to concentrate on research work, besides character building of the students. He urged the students to take full advantage of the facilities being offered to them in the universities and colleges, and concentrate on their studies.
Earlier, the prime minister was told that the women campus having all modern education facilities would be constructed at cost of Rs 987 million in three years. The campus, however, would be initially made operational at the Government Girls Degree College Billtung Kohat in February next year.
Initially the campus would have three academic blocks, including English, computer science and zoology, and later more blocks would be constructed for more departments to cater students needs.
It was a long awaited demand of the people of Kohat that was fulfilled by the PML-N Government. The girl students of nearby districts, including Karak, Hangu and Orakzai Agency, would also be largely benefited from the campus.
The facility near their homes would help save time and money of girl students, who at present had to go to other districts for higher education.
Earlier on his arrival, Prime Minister Abbasi was received by KP Governor Engr Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, National Assembly Deputy Speaker and PML-N KP General Secretary Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Advisor to the Prime Minister and PM-N KP President Engr Amir Muqam and others party leaders.

Source: APP