June 9, 2002	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 27,1423

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ISLAMABAD, June 8: The deputy chief of mission at US Embassy, Islamabad, has said that Federal Education Minister Zobaida Jalal and her staff are committed to revitalize the education system of Pakistan, and that the United States will support them.

William Monroe stated this at the opening ceremony of a five-day workshop on ‘Exploring Options for Using Technology to Support Basic Education in Pakistan’. This event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Education, USAID, Asia Foundation and Educational Development Centre of Washington.

Mr Monroe also said the US was supporting the workshop, as it wanted to help Pakistan realize its goal of enhancing quality and increasing quantity of the basic educational opportunities for the Pakistanis.

Federal Secretary Tariq Farook, speaking on the occasion, said Pakistan was making much progress in the information and communication technology by diverting its recourses to uplift education.

Education sector reforms were evident of the fact that the government and Ministry of Education were doing hard to apply the technology at all levels, he said.

Asia Foundation representative Julio Andrews said the workshop would help participants gain an understanding of the technology options for Pakistan, including radio, television, computers. It would also provide a hands-on experience for designing a technology-assisted basic education programme.

The five-day event looked at the specific options for addressing the education-sector-reform goals, which mainly focused on primary education, teachers’ education, informal education and public-private partnership. Total 60 participants from across Pakistan took part in the workshop.

Education Ministry Joint Secretary Sarfaraz Ahmed Syed formally concluded the workshop.