Recovered graft money to be spent on education: PM

HARIPUR:

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said he was planning to divert the money recovered by Asset Recovery Unit in the corruption cases to the education sector.

“I want a law passed so that the money recovered by the Assets Recovery Unit from corrupt people is directed toward education, he said addressing the inauguration of the Pak-Austria Fachhochschule Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology in Mang, Haripur.

Established with assistance of the government of Austria, the Institute will contribute to Pakistan's high-tech industrial economy and higher education in engineering and technology. It also aims to set up an integrated technology park with business incubation centres and shell units for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

The premier said knowledge-economy was the best option for Pakistan to capitalise its large youth pool and immense talent for scientific innovation and technical productivity.

“Now is the time for country to discover its own path leading towards a system based on scientific and technical production to ensure economic growth," he added.

“Investment in education will ensure a bright and prosperous for the coming generations.”

The prime minister said “dependency syndrome” was the main reason behind the country deviating from the path of development.

"The mindset of depending on the West and not relying on own potential prevails. Why can't we produce our own scientists and make inventions and patents," he questioned.

The premier gave the references of tech giants Microsoft and Facebook, which due to making strides in science and technology, had a worth bigger than Pakistan's budget. He said Singapore boasted $330 billion exports compared with Pakistan's $25 billion as it had entirely adopted science and technology.

The prime minister expressed his confidence that the Fachhochschule Institute of Austria's top university would prove a hub of science and technology and also a platform for Pakistani youth to excel. He mentioned that China's collaboration with Pakistan had transformed into industrial cooperation as the two countries entered the second phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

He said the campuses of five Chinese and three Austrian universities would be opened in Pakistan as the country had its set eyes on learning artificial intelligence and big data for systemic data processing.

Dr Attaur Rehman, the chairman of the PM’s Task Force on Science and Technology, said the Pak-Austria Fachhochschule Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology Haripur had the support of top eight universities of EU and Asia.

“It is the first-ever university of Pakistan where railways engineering, mineral processing, agriculture and food processing, artificial intelligence and other subjects would be taught,” he added.

The chairman said that the core of the university was a technology park for which funds had been allocated for the development and process of new products in the fields of agriculture and industries.

He added that the location of the university had been selected owing to its unique location where one of its component Industries was available in large numbers at Hattar Industrial Estate.

WITH INPUT FROM APP