TOBA TEK SINGH: Students of a government vocational training institute in Samanabad, Faisalabad, have developed an environment-friendly “Hydrogen kit” for the industrial generators and motorcycles under a pilot project launched with the financial and technical assistance of Canadian government.

This was claimed on Saturday by Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta) Board of management president Engineer Asim Munir, in a meeting with industrialists at the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI).

He said the ‘Hydrogen Kit’ developed by the students has the potential to help Pakistan cut down its import bill through.

“We could save 40pc of traditional fossil fuel by encouraging use of this kit at national level”, he claimed and urged the government and private sector should utilise this kit to overcome the threat of environment pollution, particularly in the urban centres.

He was optimistic that the private sector would come forward and start production of these kits on a commercial basis.

Mr Munir said the private sector should also benefit from Tevta students’ skills for replacing the existing electricity systems with renewable solar energy.

He said Tevta has launched a joint venture with the Higher Education Commission and Secondary Education Department to organise camps in the institutions run by the authority during summer vacation.

During three months of summer vacation, 14 courses, including of domestic electrician, plumbing, domestic tailoring, computer application, safety inspector and kitchen gardening will be offered to the students.

He said as Tevta has a limited capacity to accommodate students, a proposal was being formed by a special committee to include the subject of technology in the matriculation syllabus.

He regretted that 90pc of the students abandon education after matriculation, adding that by developing technical skills they could get jobs or start their own business.

He suggested that courses of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and information technology (IT) should also be launched as these fields would create maximum job opportunities in the coming decades.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2023