Alvi for virtual education to increase enrolment

Urges nurses, other paramedical staff to serve country instead of going abroad

ISLAMABAD:

President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday called for virtual education to increase enrolment of students without extra spending on infrastructure.

Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony for construction of academic block of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University and Federal Medical College, he said that virtual education was of immense importance and Pakistan needed a large number of information technology and medical graduates and attention should be given to this aspect of education.

He said the nations make progress with spending on education and health. “I believe in virtual education and have immense interest in information technology,” he said adding that in Pakistan, every year 26000 youth become IT graduates which was less as compared to the neighbouring country.

Dr Alvi said in the 1970s and 1990s, a huge number of medical graduates left the country and the country could not get benefit from their abilities. He said Pakistan needed nurses and other paramedical staff and they should not be sent abroad. In the past a large number of students went abroad for higher education and many of them did not return, he said adding that human resources of the country should be prepared for meeting needs of the country.

The president said in a period of 20 years, the number of doctors had doubled while the number of dentists had also increased manifold. He stressed the need fo improving quality of education and achieving higher ranking for the educational institutions.

He underlined the need for taking steps for reducing the disease of hepatitis.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Dr Faisal Sultan talked about the steps being taken to improve governance in the medical institutions. He said the new project would lead the medical profession into a new era.

He said that the proposed upgraded facilities will enhance the teaching and research capacity of the university. The objective of the project was to enrol 1,000 under and post graduate students and produce 300 PhDs.

He said that the project would help in publishing about 1000 research papers and in holding 250 local clinical trials for creating local data about pharmacological effects of drugs. It would promote research culture in the medical profession and will have a simulation lab facility, he said adding that the Higher Education Commission had financed the project to be completed in three years.

HEC Executive Director Dr Shaista Sohail, Vice Chancellor of the university Dr Tanvir Khalid and Chairman Board of Directors Dr Abid Malik were present on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2021.