US to provide grants for technical education
Women embroider at the institute of technical education run by the Pakistan army in Quetta. PHOTO: AFP
The United States (US) has offered grant and a comprehensive package to support the technical education in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
In this regard Provincial Minister for Industries and Technical Education Adnan Jalil called on Political Economic Chief of the US Embassy, Nickolas Catsakis, here at a local hotel in Peshawar and discussed with him various issues of mutual interest.
The US diplomat offered a comprehensive package of training teachers, students to the K-P government. He also offered a good chunk of grant for the purpose.
Accepting the offer as courtesy, the caretaker minister said that the provincial government has chalked out a well-conceived and comprehensive plan to upgrade the technical educational institutions of the province, train teachers and teach modern skills to the young generation on modern lines, wherein the cooperation of the US government and donors will be considered as a gift for the people of K-P.
He said it will also inculcate the feelings and sentiments of goodwill amongst both the nations.
The minister said that under the program of equipping the youth with modern technical education in the province, the students who have graduated will be enabled to open their shop or workshop with hiring the services of more artisans after meeting the required business requirements including getting a national tax number (NTN) so that youth can learn meaningful skills in addition to enable them earn a decent living and help in eradicating unemployment.
Adnan Jalil said that GIZ, USAID and international donor and aid agencies of so many countries have provided a lot of support to our technical training centers in woodworking and other technologies in the past.
He said various US agencies can also play a key role in supporting the provincial government and promoting technical education over here.
The political economic chief of the US Embassy assured the caretaker minister to seriously review the new technical education plan of the provincial government and provide full financial and technical support and grants in this regard.
The project is expected to develop the outdated and obsolete technical education system in the province on modern lines which will in return help the local industries too.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 16th, 2023.