KARACHI, Feb 10: The Governor of Sindh, Dr Ishratul Ibad, has said that an appropriate use of education in all walks of life could promote peace and harmony in society and this could eventually lead to peace and prosperity in the entire country.

He was speaking as chief guest at the ‘Educational Conference’ organized by Mohajir Rabita Council (MRC) here on Monday. The chief of Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Altaf Hussain, made a telephonic address from London especially for the conference.

Mr Ibad observed that the lifestyle and behaviour of people proved the quality of their education. It is only their attitude, handling of affairs, and dealing with other people, he added, that led others to gauge how enlightened they were and to what extent these people were doing justice with the knowledge and education they had acquired.

“Along with the professional deliverance, we must apply education for the overall betterment of society, city, province and country,” he advised.

Highlighting the importance of education and awareness on different issues and problems, the governor said that the government was taking all possible measures to provide better educational opportunities to the masses without any discrimination. However, he added, the government alone could not ensure covering hundreds of thousands of left over children in this regard. As such, he pointed out, public-private partnership could be encouraged. He held out the assurance that the government would provide every possible assistance if private sector came forward with a positive approach.

He appreciated the MRC’s plan to hold more such conferences and take practical measures in this direction. He assured the organization of his maximum possible cooperation and assistance.

Mr Ibad stressed that education could play a key role in combating feudalism.

In his speech, Mr Altaf Hussain noted that dual educational system was the root-cause of injustice in the society. He observed that the limited number of students qualifying from English medium educational institutions, where syllabi and books of American and British standards were in vogue, were being considered as elite and, therefore, sweeping away all the benefits.

He opined that education for everyone could not be ensured only because the successive governments failed to allocate adequate funds for the purpose on priority basis. He pointed out that the governments’ defence sector had always remained the governments’ top priority. However, he maintained, the defence sector alone could not safeguard all the interests of the country. The nations fully equipped with modern day knowledge, technology and equipment could face the challenges from the stronger rivals and developed countries, he added.

Mr Hussain regretted the Muslim countries were still backward in the field of education and technology. Referring to the helplessness of Muslim countries in the face of much-feared US aggression against Iraq, he observed that the Islamic world could do nothing but register their protest. The reason, he said, was that they lacked awareness and technological advancement.

Urging the government to grant education top priority status, The MQM chief called for the implementation of only one medium of instruction in education sector. The same language, he said, should be declared as official language. He observed that certain unnecessary restrictions, imposed after linking them with religion mischievously, were also hindering the process of educating woman folk.

The President of MRC, Qazi Khalid Ali, said that Pakistan could not make any significant progress in the comity of nations only due to a poor planning and the inconsistent education policies. He said that it was time the educational sector given due attention and adequate funds.

Mr Safwanwala, the MQM’s parliamentary leader in National Assembly, Faisal Sabzwari and Sabir Shamsi were among others who spoke on the occasion. The conference was attended by MNAs, MPAs, many education department officials, employees of educational boards, government colleges and universities besides a large number of people from different walks of life.