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WASHINGTON, March 9: Federal Education Minister Zubaida Jalal met Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice on Friday.
The minister discussed Pakistan’s educational reforms with the two key Bush administration officials.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, referring to the minister’s meeting with Secretary Powell, underlined US desire to “support the changes and reforms that President Musharraf has announced in terms of moving Pakistan towards a more modern and moderate course where education plays a very key role on this”.
Madressah reforms were also discussed during the minister’s meetings with US officials.
APP ADDS: The American First Lady, Laura Bush, reassured her sustained support in the field of education to the federal education minister, Zubaida Jalal on Friday at the White House.
The federal minister, accompanied by the Pakistani ambassador Dr Maleeha Lodhi, thanked the First Lady for her support and presented an overview of the education sector reforms to her.
Zubaida Jalal also proposed collaboration schemes linking schools of the two countries.
In this regard, the First Lady was apprised of the innovative programmes including the Adopt-A-School programme.
Mrs Bush offered to adopt a girls middle school in the Islamabad Capital Territory, which will not only be supported for IT literacy, science and health promotion, but also be linked to a sister school in the United States.
The education minister, on her way home on Sunday will make a 4-day visit to the UK to consult British educationists on improving the education system and look for avenues for Pakistani students to study in the UK.
She will arrive here on the invitation of the British universities and is heading a delegation of Pakistani scholars.
Those accompanying her include vice-chancellor of Allama Iqbal Open University Dr Altaf Hussain, vice-chancellor of Karachi University Zafar Saeed Saify, vice-chancellor of Balochistan University Justice (retd) M.A. Rasheed, chief executive of Falcon and Consultancy Services, and member of Advisory Committee Ministry of Education Syed Abidi, director /registrar Pak-American Institute of Management Sciences and some senior officials.
Her visit has been organized by Pakistan Falcon Education and Consultant Services, a consortium of British universities in cooperation with the ministry of education and the Pakistan High Commission.
