‘Fund students, not CRTF’

Senate panel asks govt to announce package for education sector

ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel on Tuesday called on the government to announce a financial package for the higher education sector to facilitate the provision of education to students and withstand the shocks of the lockdown - imposed due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) - instead of spending money on Corona Relief Tiger Force (CRTF).

This was discussed as the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights met at the Parliament House in Islamabad on Tuesday with its chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar in the chair.

The meeting was attended by Senators Ali Saif, Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini, Shaheen Butt, Usman Kakar, and Keshoo Bai apart from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Tariq Banuri, officials of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and others.

During the meeting, participants stated that the pandemic has either directly or indirectly affected every sector of the country, though the education sector is perhaps the most affected and that all educational institutions must be provided sufficient resources to cope with the current situation.

HEC Chief Dr Banuri told the committee that for the past two years, they have faced budget cuts by the government. Moreover, he said that while other sectors received packages during the pandemic, universities and students are in desperate need of an “education package”.

Senators criticised the government for halting funds for various projects of the HEC and said that the provision of funds should be ensured for promoting quality education in the country.

Senator Kakar stressed the need for funds for HEC to continue providing education to students. He added that the Tele School programme, launched by the government to provide distance learning for school-going students, had failed in the rural and remote areas of the country which do not have access to quality cable or internet services apart from prolonged load-shedding.

Senator Butt said that Pakistan must learn from the concepts of virtual classes as practised in the western world.

Senator Bai for resolving the issue of providing internet and cellular network in Balochistan. At this, the PTA chief assured the committee internet services will be available in erstwhile federally administered tribal areas (Fata) within a few weeks.

The committee decided to call the representatives of the interior ministry and the head USF in the panel’s next meeting.

Expressing disappointment over the lack of funds for higher education, participants of the meeting called for raising the matter in the parliament. The panel also summoned the finance secretary in the next meeting to review the HEC funding issue in detail.

They added that the government's focus should be on resolving public problems and that the government should spend money on students instead of on the CRTF.

Senator Khokar pointed out that many university students have been expelled from their institutions after they raised their voices over problems in attending online classes. Senators in the meeting condemned this attitude of varsities and asked the HEC to look into the matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2020.