Shafqat terms opposition’s uproar ‘storm in a teacup’

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood has said the opposition’s uproar is nothing but a storm in a teacup.

Talking to the media at the Punjab University (PU) here on Friday, he said the opposition has been hurling threats for three years but did nothing. To a question, he said tabling a no-confidence motion is the opposition's constitutional right. He said the PTI and its allies are united, not because of vested interests but because they share a similar ideology and added relationships built on ideology are strong. Answering a question about the PECA ordinance, he said that in democracies, there is always a reaction to developments and added further discussions vis-à-vis the ordinance are under way.

To another question, he said the PTI government would complete its term and continue till August 2023. To yet another question, the minister termed the PM’s visit to Russia really important, saying that Pakistan is following a foreign policy in which the country enjoys good relationships with all the relevant powers. He said that as per “our stated policy, Pakistan seeks a good relationship with everyone”.

Earlier, speaking at the ceremony vis-à-vis Prime Minister’s Skill for All – Hunarmand Pakistan Programme, Shafqat said the higher education institutions must revamp the curriculum of degree programmes according to the needs of the job market to develop relevant skills among students.

Punjab University Vice Chancellor Prof Niaz Ahmad, Chairman National Vocational Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) Syed Javed Hassan, officials and students participated in the event. Shafqat further said many of the world's leading entrepreneurs did not get higher education but their skills brought them forward and now they are leading the world in their relevant fields. He said that one of the major challenges of the higher education institutions in Pakistan is to produce graduates having market-oriented skills.

The minister said PM Imran Khan has taken several initiatives to provide job opportunities to the youth and these efforts are being made to develop required skills among youths so that either they could get a job or they could become entrepreneurs.

He said Rs 110 billion have been allocated for this initiative. The government is also monitoring the quality of training institutions to ensure a high standard of skills being imparted to students. He said Pakistan’s job market has the potential to absorb “our graduates, but there is a need to develop specific skills among students as per requirements of the market”. Appreciating the improvement in international ranking of the Punjab University, the minister said Prof Niaz Ahmad deserves the credit for uplifting the standard of the university and he is happy to see a jump of 87 points in the QS ranking of the PU, making it 145th best university in Asia.

Syed Javed Hassan said the NAVTTC is promoting the culture of entrepreneurship and hundreds of thousands of students would be given technical training in various fields. He said a large number of graduates after completing their training programmes are working as freelancers.

Prof Niaz Ahmad said the government has facilitated universities to excel to the international level with funding and encouragement of research projects. However, he said, the universities must focus on producing graduates with required knowledge of the field as well as relevant skills. He said: “Our graduates have degrees but lack required skills due to which they are facing difficulties in obtaining jobs or launching entrepreneurship programmes in the market.”