KARACHI, July 26: Federal finance minister Shaukat Aziz said on Friday that the present government had chalked out a detailed plan to streamline higher education in accordance with international standards, upgrading the infrastructure of public- sector universities, reconstituting their governance structure, giving them financial and academic autonomy and raising overall allocation for the sector with greater flexibility to use their resources.

“The present government has devoted considerable attention to work out its education sector strategy targeting five different streams, including higher education, illiteracy, increasing enrolment, reduction in the dropout rate of students, technical education and streamlining of the Madarsa system of education”, the minister said while addressing the inaugural session of The City School Network National Convention on Education “Heads Conference 2002” at a local hotel here in Karachi.

Elucidating the salient features of strategy, the minister said that the first component of the Education Sector Reform (ESR) was the universal literacy program through non-formal methods.

“Establishment of additional schools, rehabilitation of the existing schools and training of trainers are some of the programmes to increase enrolment in schools and prevent reduction in the dropout rate at the primary and the secondary-level education”, he added.

He said the setting up of over 500 new technical institutions had been planned at the Tehsil level to impart technical skills to the youth of the country for improving economic productivity and the Madaris were being encouraged to teach some additional courses including mathematics and IT.

He said that the problem of poverty could not be resolved unless the poor were freed of ignorance, disease and social alienation. “The government is attacking the menace in all three directions, by improving economics, the social sector and institutions of governance in the country”, he said.

He further said that all economic, social and political policies of the government had been combined to reduce the twin burden of debt and poverty from the country.

Stressing the need to set benchmarks for the ideal learning process, he said that education should be considered an investment in the human capital as it was not merely a contractual relationship of give and take.

“The ideal learning process must cater to the needs for social consciousness and improve productivity and chances of gainful employment”, said the minister. He expressed the hope that country’s forex reserves would touch 7billion dollars within a week.

Earlier, managing director City School Network, Mrs Farzana Firoz, speaking on the occasion, informed that the network had acquired 250 acres of land in Karachi to establish a university and the network was collaborating with foreign universities to impart training to its faculty.

She further said that plans were under way to establish chains of the City School Network in Malaysia. Heads of different schools from across the country are attending three-day national convention.—PPI