Education… The new seat of power

PM house to be converted into a modern university

The prime minister recently announced that the government had formally started the process of converting the PM House into a modern university.

The Islamabad National University, to be set up in the PM House, will start as an institute of advanced studies for research with a focus on emerging technologies.

It will eventually lead to the establishment of a university there. The Higher Education Commission has been tasked with completing the project in three to five years. Imran made the announcement during a seminar in the federal capital. This is another box which Prime Minister Imran Khan can tick for an electoral promise fulfilled. Soon after taking over, Imran had set up a committee to review public buildings and their uses. The PM was to chair this committee himself so that he could personally monitor progress on the subject. Admittedly, education is PM Imran’s top priority.

Imran stated that the purpose of establishing a university at the 1,100 kanal estate was to reduce the gap between the government and the public. He also stressed on the importance of “quality education” for a nation’s “progress and development” and that this move is but a step in improving the overall level of education. By shunning the perceived opulence of the prime minister by refusing to live in the PM House and personally monitoring the project of converting the symbol of the country’s chief executive for promoting higher learning, he has led from the front. It also speaks volumes about his commitment to improving the state of education in the country. This heralds a new direction for the country whereby the state not only acknowledges the root of our emerging problems but also moves to solve them.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2018.

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