ISLAMABAD, Jan 12: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has called for promotion of skill-based knowledge to drive maximum benefit from opportunities unfolded by globalisation.

Speaking at the 9th convocation of the Comsats Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) at the Liaquat Sports Complex auditorium here on Friday, he said it was imperative to create skilled workforce to meet the present day challenges and meet national as well as international requirements.

Mr Aziz said country’s educational system had a general orientation and needed to gravitate towards vocational training to equip the students with technical and managerial skills.

He said the government had shown an unrelenting commitment to develop the human capital through a holistic and multi- dimensional strategy, with particular focus on education and health.

The government is making record investment in education to build its quality infrastructure, he said, mentioning “Educational for All” and “Education Sector Reforms” as initiatives to promote literacy.

“The thrust of our strategy is to improve the quality and access to higher education, particularly science and technology that not only directly contributes to economic development but also reduces poverty,” he added.

Mr Aziz referred to the emergence of ‘knowledge economy’ worldwide and said intellectual capability rather than physical prowess had become major detriment of progress.

He stressed adopting English as a tool of modern learning, to enable the students imbibe latest research in various disciplines and also reinforce linkages with rest of the world.

The prime minister urged the need to remove gender disparities in education to fully leverage women who comprise more than half of the country’s population.

He said access to education was basic human right, as it enhanced human capabilities, opportunities for individual progress and the social mobility.

Shaukat Aziz also urged the educational institutions to focus on the wider concept of education and keep healthy balance between academic pursuits and socio-cultural activities, between technical and liberal arts, and between secular learning and religious education.

Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Nouraiz Shakoor, who is also the chancellor of CIIT, said the institution gained laurels in just six years by introducing a number of faculties.

He felicitated the graduating students and termed their accomplishments a result of joined efforts by their teachers and parents. He said a country could only achieve progress by making quality investment in educational sector.

The minister also requested the government to allocate 100 acres of land for the expansion of CIIT campuses.

Later, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz conferred degrees and medals on the graduating students. Minister for Education Javed Ashraf Qazi and Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Attaur Rehman were also present on the occasion.