Female higher education: France keen to collaborate with Pakistan

Envoy hopes more women will seek higher education abroad

PESHAWAR: France is keen on collaborating with Pakistan to promote female higher education.

“I will talk to officials in the Pakistani government and my own government to see how we can collaborate in terms of higher education and other sectors to promote female education,” said French Ambassador Martine Dorance on Tuesday while visiting the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University (SBBWU) in Peshawar.

In this regard, Dorance shared that the Pakistani and French governments were working on enhancing cooperation in areas of higher education and other related programmes.

“We can collaborate in areas of higher education and explore opportunities in various other fields,” she said, adding that unless women are considered as an equal part of the society no country can climb the ladder of development.

“Even in France, the responsibility of educating children rests with the women regardless of the fact that most of them are working women,” she stressed.

She added that every year, they receive a number of students from Pakistan and expect to receive even more.

“We have already spoken to the Higher Education Commission chairman that we need more female students and I can see the work done in different universities,” she said as he hoped that more Pakistani students, particularly women, would seek higher education in France.

SBBWU Peshawar Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Razia Sultana said that apart from delivering higher education, they were also encouraging women to follow their chosen careers.

“Girls, after acquiring education, should not sit at home, but they should have a clear path and must contribute to the betterment of society and the overall economy,” she explained.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2017.