ISLAMABAD: Education is the only solution to all challenges being faced by Pakistan. Therefore, investment in the development of the education sector is imperative for a stable economy and a prosperous society.

This was stated on Wednesday by the acting chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Engineer Imtiaz Gilani, while addressing the first media briefing session since his appointment in the commission on November 11.

Mr Gilani said that in the past, vice chancellors of various universities in the country had repeatedly urged the government to increase the GDP ratio of education to four per cent.

“Our youth has tremendous potential, but if we do not provide them proper opportunities to learn, this asset will become a liability. This potential can only be tapped by investing in education,” he said.

Executive Director HEC Dr Mukhtar Ahmed elaborated on the commission’s future strategy for further strengthening education sector.

In his presentation, Dr Mukhtar said: “Since 2001, the number of universities has increased from 50 to 153 and 9,000 PhD students are enrolled within the country.

“Every year over 1000 PhD scholars are produced while 25,000 students are studying for their masters and most of them intend to do their PhD too.”Dr Mukhtar said although Pakistan lagged in the education sector, the realisation by successive governments to support higher education sector had helped ensure growth of higher learning institutions.

While elaborating on the commission’s role, he said HEC ensured that quality education was imparted in universities and faculty members were being encouraged to focus on research.

Dr Mukhtar said enrolment in universities had considerably increased in the past few years.

“During the last decade, HEC offered 4,000 foreign scholarships and 7,000 local scholarships. In 2012, 6316 research papers were published and this number may exceed 9,000 in 2013,” he said.

“By 2018, Pakistan will cross Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand in terms of number of research papers published every year,” he said.