July 14, 2005	Thursday	Jumadi-us-Sani 6, 1426

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ISLAMABAD, July 13: Ahsan Iqbal, Chief Coordinator of PML-N, has accused President Gen Pervez Musharraf of neglecting education, citing the report of an NGO which ranked Pakistan last in the sector among 14 Asian-Pacific nations. In a statement on Wednesday, the PML-N leader said the role of public education as social ladder had diminished under President Musharraf and alleged “the government has turned education into a publicity tool”.

“If Gen Musharraf had not abandoned the Pakistan 2010 Programme prepared by me, Pakistan would have achieved universal primary enrolment two years ago,” he claimed.

Mr Ahsan said the NGO report, coming after the UNDP Human Development Index which showed that Pakistan had slipped to 142nd position from 135th under Musharraf, provided “further proof” of the government’s incompetence in the field.

Pakistan scored 24/100 and received an F grade in the report published by the Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education, a network of 200 organizations and individuals involved in formal and non-formal adult education.

“This exposes all the claims made by the government that it is focusing on education sector as a priority.

The fact of the matter is that in last six years the quality of education has deteriorated in public sector schools and allocations for education sector have been reduced from 2.4 per cent of GNP to 1.7 per cent of GNP showing lack of commitment on the part of government,” he said.

“In the new knowledge revolution era, nations without strong educational foundations stand no chance of economic development. With education and social indicators going down what kind of economic development are we talking about?”

Mr Iqbal said his Pakistan 2010 Programme would have brought a social and educational revolution in the country through its projects but Gen Musharraf abandoned it.

“Two years ago, we would have achieved universal primary enrolment. The education apartheid in the country has grown, the role of public education as social ladder has diminished, and the government has turned education into a publicity tool by wasting millions on personal projection advertisements of its leaders.

The tragedy is that for the present government top most priority is uniform and perpetuating power,” the PML-N leader said.

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