Educationists want 4% of GDP for education in budget

Islamabad : The reception organised by Quaid-i-Azam Alumni Association (Quaideen) in collaboration with Inter-University Consortium for Promotion of Social Sciences in the honour of newly appointed Chairperson of Higher Education Commission Dr Tariq Banuri at Islamabad Club here Wednesday turned out to be a gathering of vice-chancellors, ambassadors and diplomats including some old students of the university also.

The objective was to get interaction with the new HEC head and exchange views with the academia, researchers, civil society and diplomats. The gist of the discussion was to get at least four per cent of GDP to education out of which one per cent should go to higher education.

Dr Tariq Banuri said that he was the first head of HEC from Social Sciences which is a strength as well as weakness. He said that he had been President of Students Union also. He in his personal opinions said that I don’t care where a person lives. He said he was happy if there is a good paper without knowing where one was. He wants universities to be autonomous and self-governing. He said that HEC is only a service agency. He appreciated a proposal of Dr Javed Leghari, his predecessor, who told him that “if you think that this action is correct, do it.”

He said that access to education is very important and now we should strive for quality education. He lamented poor showing in CSS examination results. He also pointed out problems in research and its methodology. He stressed the importance of training and academic governance. For the purpose, he said, he would focus of National Academy of Higher Education. He vowed to jealously guard autonomy of HEC. He said like Tariq bin Ziad, we should have his approach and burn the boats to achieve objectives.

Dr Imtiaz Gilani, former VC of Engineering University, Peshawar, said that nothing works in a dysfunctional system. He said that it is time to throw books, pens and papers on us and not the guns, bombs and munitions. He said that street children are encyclopaedia of misery and pain. Whey not to provide them a ship of education, he asked.

He said that we create terrorists when we stop people have smallest thing in the life and they try to get biggest things in the world.

Earlier, Dr Nasser Ali Khan, Chairperson, IUPSS, asked for establishing an academy for social sciences like Academy of Sciences. He said South Korea adopted our plans and progressed as they focused on human resource. Giving an example of a technology university in Haripur which will award Austrian degrees here in Pakistan, he said that general universities are discriminated against in the country. He called for a task force on social sciences and social issues. He said we have 25 million youth and in the relevant age group only nine per cent have access to higher education.