ADB shows interest in skill development

Islamabad : The Asian Development Bank has shown interest in working with Pakistan in the field of skill and capacity development.

“Linkages must be developed among the skill development institutes and the job market so that the students after vocational and technical training can get immediate jobs,” ADB Vice President Wencai Zhang told Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood during a meeting here on Saturday.

The visitor said the ADB had invested in many infrastructure and social sector projects not only in Pakistan but in other Asian countries including China, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

He informed the minister about the different social sector projects particularly in the field of education that ADB is working on in Asia.

The ADB vice president offered the bank's support to the Education Minister in the technical and skill development fields and also in the formulation of National Education Policy. “Pakistan should take benefit from our expertise. We can provide technical support during the formulation and implementation of National Education Policy," he said.

The minister appreciated the help and support offered by Mr. Wencai Zhang and stated that Education and Skill Development was the main focus of the present government. He said Pakistan was facing humongous challenge in the field of education and according to the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan the education ministry was all set to introduce reforms that comprise of Introducing uniform education and certification system and uniform curriculum throughout the country, improving the quality of education, skill development and vocational training and enrolling the 25 million out of school children.

"Another component is to work on the adult education," he added.

Shafqat Mahmood said the education ministry would soon introduce the National Education Policy to address all challenges facing the education sector. “We are currently assessing the situation, setting our goals and targets and we would like the support of ADB in the formulation and implementation stages,” he said. Both sides agreed to hold further meetings in this regard.

Later, Saudi ambassador Nawaf Bin Said Al-Malki and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Pakistan Takashi Kurai met the minister. Further bilateral cooperation in the field of education was discussed in the meetings.