Pakistan urged to adopt ‘education for all’ objective

STUTTGART, Germany: A Ukraine-based Pakistani oligarch Mohammad Zahoor has said that overseas Pakistanis deeply care about education in Pakistan but the corrupt system and the lack of motivation by the government institutions discourage them at all levels.
The Karachi-born business tycoon, who rose out of poverty to build a Ukrainian steel empire worth billions and married a former Miss World, said that Pakistanis living abroad could do a lot more if they were assured that their investment in the education sector or their cash to help the needy get education will not be swindled.
He was speaking at a seminar here titled “Education for all” organised by renowned German Pakistani social worker Syed Khurram Raza. Vice chairman of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Dr Sohail Naqvi was the chief guest of the seminar which was attended by German MPs, local politicians and leading Pakistanis in Europe including Chaudhry Musarrat Ali, M K Pasha and Pakistani Counsel General Dr Imtiaz Qazi.
Zahoor said that if the money is spent rightly in the education sector then it can bring about revolution and will inspire tens of thousands of overseas Pakistanis to do more to promote education but the government need to do a lot more to inspire the trust of overseas Pakistanis who face numerous difficulties at home and the law and order situation coupled with institutional corruption remain their biggest worry.
Dr Sohail Naqvi said that this impression was misleading that LUMS provided education only to the elite class and to those students who were already performing well. He said LUMS was open for all classes where admission is given on the basis of merit primarily. He said LUMS provided scholarships to deserving students and appealed to overseas Pakistanis to sponsor needy students so they can get quality education. He said institutions like LUMS showed that Pakistan has the ability to provide top class education but this success was made possible with the help from those Pakistanis who provided money. He said that poverty in Pakistan can be eradicated through investment in education.
Syed Khurram Raza Kazmi said that successive governments in Pakistan have done nothing to end inequalities and divide between the rich and the poor. He said the objective of “Education for all” could be achieved if the government took lead in introducing a basic uniform education system.
He said the western democracies offered a lesson to Pakistan’s rulers in how the state cares for its children and ensures that everyone has the right and means to obtain education with help from the state and the private sector.
Sikandar Mir said that education should be purpose-oriented and Pakistan needs to adopt a model where overseas Pakistanis should be made stakeholders in this process. He said that every citizen has the right to equal education opportunities and obtaining education is a fundamental human right.
Pakistan’s Counsel General in Germany Imtiaz Qazi said that Islam emphasises the need to get education and promote it. He said Pakistan faces several crises which are directly affecting the country’s ability to promote education.
He said Pakistan’s education sector needs reforms and hoped that once the security and law and order situation improves, this sector will see positive changes too. He said Pakistan has produced women like Fatima Jinnah, Benazir Bhutto and Malala Yousufazi who have made their mark at the international level.
Chaudhry Musarrat Ali said that Pakistan’s biggest problem is terrorism. This problem can be dealt with through education and for all. He said it was the failure of the state that has helped the mushroom growth of education centers in unregulated areas. He called on the government of Pakistan to declare education emergency.