MANSEHRA: Higher Education Commission chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmad on Thursday urged students of remote areas, especially girls, to benefit from the HEC digital library for education.

“Our digital library offers a great opportunity to girl students living in remote parts of GB, KP, Balochistan, Sindh and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to have access to education. Bound by local customs not to step out for studies, such girls could now easily get the benefits of that library sitting home,” he told a gathering of students, researchers and teachers at the Hazara University here.

The ceremony was held in connection with distribution of laptops to the university’s students under the Prime Minister’s National Laptop Scheme Phase-II.

A large number of faculty, deans, chairmen, heads of teaching departments, heads of administrative sections and their parents attended the ceremony.

The HEC chairman said the digital library would provide students with free online access to 12,000 journals and 200,000 textbooks,” he said.

HEC chief distributes laptops to Hazara varsity students

He said the laptop scheme was meant to encourage competition among students.

“Since the scheme was given under our control, the laptop purchase contracts have been given to the vendors, who are to bring laptop assembly units to the country and thus, strengthening economy,” he said.

He said for the first time in the country’s history, over 1000 laptops were assembled in Lahore and that of the 200,000 laptops being purchased by the HEC, 50,000 laptops would be assembled by the said company in the country.

The HEC chairman said Pakistani students were intelligent but lacked opportunities to show their talents.

He said the federal government was focusing on higher education and was executing financial schemes for talented and needy students across the country.

Dr Mukhtar said the federal government was actively considering the opening of the university sub-campuses at district levels with a focus on youths living in backward areas.

He urged students to contribute to the country’s progress and development by involving themselves in modern research and quality learning.

Earlier, Vice-Chancellor of Hazara University Professor Mohammad Idrees said 1,560 students of his university selected on basis of merit were awarded laptops.

“I believe such initiatives of the government and HEC will definitely promote learning competition among our youths and will establish a culture of research and development,” he said.

The HEC chairman later planted a deodar sapling in front of the university’s administration block.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2016