Fighting with the pen: Bring higher education under federal govt, says UET VC

Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gillani stresses education is a must to combat militancy.


Our Correspondent August 22, 2014

PESHAWAR:


University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Vice Chancellor Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gillani on Friday said terrorism and extremism could be eradicated by promoting education and spreading awareness.


“Education is the foundation of progress and prosperity,” he said, while addressing the Express Forum in Peshawar. “There should be maximum emphasis on educational facilities for children and the youth.”

Hailing from Kohat, former K-P education minister Gillani has been serving as the vice chancellor of UET since 2004.

The vice chancellor said parents were reluctant to enroll children in public sector schools and colleges due to the poor standards. He insisted that higher education be placed under the control of the federal government as he feared that provinces were imparting their own brand of education at medical and engineering colleges.

Gillani said unless education is prioritised, it would be impossible to get rid of socio-economic problems, especially violence and extremism. He criticised lawmakers for allocating just 2% of the annual budget for education, suggesting it should be increased to at least 4%. He underlined that an educated society would also lead to increased employment.

Gillani claimed that only the medical and engineering sectors were active with regards to higher education, while the rest were confined to certificates. He stressed that government-run universities were active, but the position of colleges was weak.

Gillani, a qualified engineer, emphasised the country desperately needed energy. He added that the population was increasing by the day, while resources were shrinking. He added that besides education, policy-makers needed to promote generation of energy.

Turning his attention to progress at UET, Gillani recalled that when he took office in 2004, there were only six departments with 1,700 students. He boasted that now the university consists of 16 departments with over 5,000 students. He revealed that construction of UET, Jalozai was in its final stages and the institute would be operational for the spring semester.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2014.

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