Minister rules out SNC rollback

Says PML-N govt prioritises higher education

LAHORE:

Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Rana Tanvir Hussain has said that the coalition government led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has raised the development budget for higher education to Rs110 billion from Rs91 billion in the budget 2022-23.

Talking to the media at a picture exhibition inauguration at the National Collage of Arts (NCA) on Monday, he said the previous government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had cut the higher education budget during the past year, adding that PML-N has always prioritised the education sector.

The minister dispelled the impression that the SNC was being rolled back, adding that the education system had to keep up pace with the world.

To a query, he responded that the PML-N government had raised the higher education budget to Rs120 billion from Rs34 billion during its previous tenure from 2013 to 2018.

The minister expressed hope that premier higher education institutions like the NCA would provide quality education to students and play their role in raising educational standards across the country. Rana Tanvir directed the NCA vice chancellor to devise short-term and long-term plans for the betterment of the varsity, adding that his responsibilities had increased manifold after the upgrading of the college into a university.

Rana Tanvir lauded VC Dr Murtaza Jafri's efforts for embracing modern technology and producing quality graduates over the years.

The federal minister said he had urged the vice chancellors’ committee at the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to focus on quality rather than becoming slaves to commercialism in higher education.

He said that previous government fell prey to aiming at raising the number of universities instead of maintaining quality. The minister said the government would award more financial benefits to the universities which would produce good results in future.

The education minister added that the Single National Curriculum (SNC) does not mean lowering academic standards, adding that the guidelines may be revised but it would remain in vogue as a benchmark. However, the institutions would be given freedom in the teaching of subjects.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2022.