LAHORE: Punjab Higher Education Minister Raja Yasir Hamayun said on Wednesday help had been sought from home department to eliminate networks of student groups active in the Punjab University.

To a question about a recent string of clashes between the student groups in the PU, the minister told reporters that as the education department did not have that much capacity and resources to address the issue, help had been sought from Punjab home department to eliminate these networks.

“It is not an easy task to accomplish. The vice-chancellors are independent and responsible for solving such problems,” he added.

On Monday last, police registered a criminal case against more than 20 armed men for allegedly thrashing and kidnapping a PU student (Abubakar). The kidnappers reportedly belong to a student wing.

There had been tensions between the Islami Jamiat Talaba and Pakhtaun and Baloch student wings.

An official told Dawn on Wednesday that Abubakar had returned home, however, no arrest had been made so far.

CONFERENCE: The 2nd International Students Convention 2019 under the auspices of inter-universities consortium, was held at the University of Education here on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister’s Task Force on Science & Technology chairman Dr Ataur Rehman, University of Education Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Rauf-i-Azam and higher education minister Raja Yasir Hamayun were among the speakers.

Dr Ataur Rehman said the real wealth of a nation was its human resources without which no country could progress in any field. “It is not the natural resources but the human resources which shape the destiny of the nations. We are living in a fast changing world. It is the era of nanotechnology and knowledge-based economy. We have to impart such knowledge to our students which is relevant to the needs of our industry.”

While comparing Pakistan with Singapore, Dr Ataur Rehman said: “Our exports are merely worth $24bn, whereas a tiny country like Singapore with a total population of 5.5 million has $330bn exports just because of our education and economic system do not fulfill the requirement of today’s rapidly changing world.”

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2019