Water, energy shortages key challenges: Jhagra

K-P governor says nation’s future hinges upon quality and competence of human resource

PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra made a strong pitch on Saturday for assigning the highest priority to challenges posed by potential water and energy shortages, ensuring food security and preventing environmental degradation.

“The nation’s future heavily depends upon the quality and competence of its human resource, especially its young research scholars,” Jhagra said in a speech at the awards distribution ceremony of the National Research Programme for Universities (NRPU).

Youth, according to him, constituted 60 per cent of the country’s population and investment in this segment would yield the “highest dividends”. Keeping this fact in mind, he said, the federal government was focusing on education as a major component of its framework for development and social change.



According to him, the role of higher education was crucial, and increasing institutional capacity for knowledge creation, promoting research and development were vital for addressing emerging challenges.



In order to respond to the challenges of knowledge revolution and globalisation, the country needed an education system that promoted creativity, analytical thinking, team work based on strong ethical foundations, he said.

Appreciating the role of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), he said: “It … is fully aligned to modern-era needs … The HEC has successfully transformed this sector.”



Expressing the hope that this public sector organisation would continue to play even more effective role in the national development, he said that the HEC offered constructive forums, encouraging institutions of higher learning to develop research and academic collaborations with both domestic and foreign universities.

Later, the governor gave away shields among successful researchers.

On this occasion, HEC chairman Prof Dr Mukhtiar Ahmad highlighted the aims of the programme initiated by his organisation.

Vice-chancellors of universities, faculty members, members, research scholars and students also attended this function.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2017.