RAWALPINDI, May 17: An amount of Rs9 billion will be allocated for higher education and research in the next year's budget. This was stated by the minister in charge of science and technology , Dr Attaur Rehman, while inaugurating a three-week workshop on "Quality assurance and university accreditation" at Fatima Jinnah Women University on Monday.

The minister, who is also the Higher Education Commission chairman, said the government had been attaching great importance to higher learning, therefore, allocation for this sector had been raised to Rs9 billion from just Rs800 million. The current year's allocation is Rs5 billion, he added.

The HEC chairman said more and more funds would be made available for higher education, and the government would ensure their proper utilization. Funding for research will be raised to about Rs200 million, he added.

Similarly, he said, Rs700 million would be provided for printing of prescribed textbooks in consultation with publishing institutions. This step will reduce book prices, he added.

Mr Ata said the curricula had also been updated. He presented a list of programmes to improve higher education and bring it on a par with the international standard. He regretted what he said the low level of Pakistani universities.

The minister said a scholarship programme had been initiated through which talented students were being sent to Europe for PhDs. This year, he said, about 300 people applied out of which 70 had been selected through a transparent process.