CHITRAL, July 4: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Technical Education and Industries, Mehmud Zeb Khan, has said that technical education, manpower training and mineral development can help contain rampant unemployment.

Addressing a gathering on the occasion of inaugurating the first-ever polytechnic institute in Seen Lusht Chitral on Monday, he expressed his dismay over the negligence of Chitral in the field of technical education and said the district was the only region in the province without any polytechnic institute.

He said although the official formalities for launching classes in the institute were yet to be fulfilled, but he would start the classes right from the current session by borrowing staff from other districts.

He said keeping in view the market demand, civil and electrical technologies had been introduced in the institute while many new would be added by the next session.

The minister stressed on providing demand-driven technical education and vocational training to make the institute a catalyst for introducing job-oriented education.

The minister also promised to upgrade the institute to college of technology by the next year keeping in view the backwardness of the district.

Mr Khan said his department had already granted generously for the development of commerce education as the construction of a 100-stucent hostel and information technology block had been recently started in government postgraduate college for management sciences.

Earlier, the minister inaugurated the polytechnic institute by unveiling the plaque.

He also addressed a reception in government postgraduate college of management sciences and unveiled the plaque of ground-breaking ceremony of the construction of the 100-student hostel.

The Minister of Population Welfare, Saleem Khan, also spoke and extolled the efforts and personal interest of Mr Zeb for promoting technical education and vocational training in the province.