Imran_khan _ file photo
The Prime Minister said that due to non-connection of education with the needs of the country, the youth are unemployed in spite of having degrees.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony of Special Technology Zone in Haripur, the Prime Minister said that providing employment to the growing population in the country is a huge challenge and by focusing on education, technology and IT sector we can overcome this challenge. I believe that countries are made up of educational institutions. The governments of the past did not emphasize the need for education.
He said that if England built Oxford and Cambridge universities, then for many hundreds of years these educational institutions provided people who would lead the world. These two institutions provided intellectual capital to the world.
Expressing regret over the country’s education system, he said that Pakistan has a three-tier education system. After the formation of Pakistan, we did not pay attention to our education system. Past governments did not emphasize the need for education. Since then we have lagged behind in the race for development.
The Prime Minister said that unfortunately three education systems were formed in the country, English medium, Urdu medium and religious madrassas which were introducing three different cultures and it was having a very negative impact on the society, causing many problems in our society. This is the class education system.
“In the past, no government has paid attention to a uniform education system, but our government has developed a curriculum for the fifth grade, and now we will take it further so that we become one nation,” he said.
He said that nations are formed by the same ideology, when there are three different ideologies in a society then there is no unity in the nation.
Highlighting the importance of technology, the Prime Minister said that the coming era is of technology. I am happy that our government has set up a special technology zone. Spending on such projects will have a positive impact on the country.
“After Yemen, Pakistan has the largest youth population in the world. 65% of our population is under 30 years of age, which is a huge asset of the country,” he said. Spending more money will benefit Pakistan.
He said that our government has removed some of the obstacles in the way of technology companies, provided some facilities, then in just one year, the IT sector grew by 45% and the growth of IT sector is expected to increase to 75%. Yes, IT is a sector in which the more you invest, the more the country will benefit and the youth will get employment opportunities.
“Our government has collected record taxes this year and as our government’s resources increase, we will continue to increase our education and health budgets,” he said.
He said that Pervez Khattak as the Chief Minister of KP in our government issued health card in 2013 which was a great achievement in spite of limited resources. It is unique and this step was taken by the KP government which is a huge task.
PM Imran said that Pervez Khattak did a great job as Chief Minister, KP was the first province in our government where steps have been taken to tackle the challenge of climate change and environment, before our government only trees were cut down in the country. They were not applied.
“Our government has done a great job in promoting tourism in the province, the effects of which we are seeing today. Our government has strengthened them by reforming the institutions,” he said.
On the occasion, Prime Minister Imran Khan also paid tributes to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mehmood Khan, Defense Minister Pervez Khattak, Provincial Minister Atif Khan and scientist Dr Atta-ur-Rehman among others.