The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government will equip all technical colleges with necessary facilities to impart quality education to students, said Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Monday.
“Technical education is vital for students in the province,” Khattak said while addressing teachers from state-owned technical colleges at the CM House. PTI was given the mandate to overhaul a corrupt system and, Khattak claimed, the party’s election slogans were fast becoming ground reality.
When PTI took charge from the previous government, it was told that things were going according to plan on the education front. “This was untrue,” he said.
“Everything was confined to paperwork and there was nothing on ground. There were schools, but none were imparting education,” said Khattak. “Buildings alone cannot deliver.”
He stressed technical education could not achieve anything unless it was put to practical use. The CM added the PTI government had also introduced various projects to reduce unemployment in K-P.
Khattak promised promotions for teachers whose students excelled in their first-term exams. The province was financially stable and will use its resources to develop the education sector, he said.
‘Change’ through technical education
Earlier, Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) Chairman Noman Wazir said substandard technical education had destroyed the country’s economy. He added an annual work plan had been prepared by teachers to bring real change to TEVTA.
A Rs8.2 billion budget has been approved for the authority; higher than the Rs6.9 billion allocated for the same program in Punjab, said Wazir. TEVTA would hire around 500 skilled teachers for students at technical colleges, he added. A sum of nearly Rs1 billion has been allocated to acquire training material.
The Vocationalisation of School Act 2014 is also being prepared to help students train in necessary skills during their studies, shared Wazir.
Answering a question, the Government College of Technology’s principal said that while technical institutes may be short on resources, the government had empowered their administrations by making them autonomous bodies. Bodies that can hire skilled teachers and utilise resources in the right areas, said the principal of the college located on Kohat Road.
Azadi?
The chief minister refused to talk about the political situation in the country and said the media should refer to PTI’s leadership for all questions about the preparation for PTI’s Azadi March to D-Chowk in Islamabad.
PTI’s core committee, which met on Sunday, reiterated there would be no compromise on the Azadi March. “There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind; PTI’s workers and leaders will reach Islamabad at all costs—even if they have to walk the distance,” said a statement issued by the committee.
It warned that any attempt to arrest PTI Chairperson Imran Khan or take him into ‘protective custody’ would be resisted with full force. “[Imran Khan] will disclose evidence of the massive rigging that took place in May 2013 elections,” it added.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 12th,2014.
COMMENTS (6)
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It is good step taken by provincial Government. Need of the day is electricity. What about your slogans to build small dams on springs and nallas.
Education is the KEY to success!!!! Please bear in mind that it takes DECADES to realise this success. The first batch of students only realise their dreams after graduating and becoming successful in business in a decade. Time is against you and one must always continue the struggle to get the nation educated. You have made a good start. Please continue and make education affordable, therein lies your success. And by the way, in a democracy the best way to overthrow a regime is by the ballot box and not thru chaos.
This man was missing from last year's flag raising ceremony. He did not want to offend his TTP friends.
Good step..indeed.. We need to give awareness to people of Pakistan about vocational training and trades. Unfortunately, people with trades' skills are not well-respected in Pakistan, while just the opposite is true in the West. If you are skilled in some trades (e.g., auto mechanic, electrician, plumbing, welding,etc.), you will probably never be jobeless...