TAXILA : A three-year Sino-Pak dual diploma programme in mechatronics technology for students during the academic year 2023–24 will commence with the collaboration of Attock and Zibo Vocational Institute in China.

Under this Sino-Pak Dual Diploma Joint Education Programme, the students will study for two years in Pakistan and a year in China. China Tang would coordinate resources to assist students’ scholarship, accommodation, and food expenses. The students will get a diploma certificate issued by China’s leading vocational college, and another one will be issued by a Pakistani counterpart.

Principal Govt College of Technology Attock, Engr. Arslan Ali, while briefing the newsmen about this pivotal development, said that this programme is part of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in China in July 2021 for the enhancement of vocational and technical education in Pakistan and launched a CCTE Mode Sino-Pak Dual Diploma Joint Education Programme.

He said that while further development on this cooperation was inked at the China Annual Conference and Expo for International Education (CACIE) at the China National Convention Centre in Beijing, the Government College of Technology, Attock, and Zibo Vocational Institute, China, signed an MoU in October this year to initiate a 3-year Sino-Pak dual diploma programme this year.

He said that according to the MoU, China Tang will facilitate these students in getting good jobs in different industries, especially in the CPEC industry in Pakistan. He said that six different colleges in TEVTA Punjab are included in this programme in different technologies, while Attock College is the only college where this programme would be offered in mechatronics technology. He was of the view that as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through the district and an industrial zone is being established in the district, such educational programmes would not only strengthen talent cultivation through modern technology but also create more job opportunities for the youth of the remote district of Attock, which is more suitable for Chinese firms.

“The agreement has been signed for the period of three years, starting in November 2023, thus accommodating the students for the academic sessions 2023–24, 2024–25, and 2025–26. He added that under this programme, students will study for two years in Pakistan, and the third year will be in Zibo Vocational Institute, Shandong, China”, stated Incharge Mechatronics Technology Kanwal Waqar. She said that the college has carried out the successful completion of 13 batches in mechatronics technology so far.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2023