PESHAWAR, Sept 13: NWFP Governor Khalilur Rehman has said that the government accorded top priority to education sector for the development of the country. “It is a clear manifestation of the government’s focus on the development of education sector that several universities have been established in public as well private sectors during the tenure of this government,” he said.

Speaking at the second convocation of the Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology (SUSIT) here on Tuesday, the governor called upon universities to come forward and play their due role in the development of education.

He expressed pleasure over the introduction of new disciplines, life science, earth science and engineering sciences, mass communication, journalism and condensed D-pharmacy at the university and said new approaches should be adopted in education sector to keep pace with time.

“This is the right time to start new courses in the varsity,” he said, adding that the university administration should guide students at the time of admission so that they could choose right courses for a good career.

He urged private sector universities to keep their standard within the reach of normal students.

The education, he said, should be reflective of collective wisdom and vision of the academic bodies.

“Today higher education is recognized as capital investment and is of paramount importance for economic and social development of the country,” said Mr Rehman.

Institutions offering higher education had a massive responsibility of equipping the individuals with advanced and modern knowledge and skills required for possessing positions of higher responsibilities in government, business and other sectors.

The governor held out assurance that the government would fully back the private sector universities, but said these institutions should offer quality education. The students of these universities, he said, were required to play their role in the national development.

Mr Rehman suggested that the universities should introduce new courses in accordance with market needs, so the students could not face hardships in finding jobs after their studies.

Earlier, Sarhad University Vice-chancellor Dr Lutfullah Kakakel said the government was according top priority to education sector. The government, he said, had planned to provide access to higher education to the age group of 17-23 years on a massive scale during the next five years.