RAWALPINDI, Jan 9: A high-level meeting on Monday approved the establishment of six new engineering universities in partnership with world class centres of excellence located in advanced countries to groom young talent in modern disciplines and spur industrial development.

President Pervez Musharraf chaired the meeting, which was also attended by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and senior officials.

The project of establishing the universities will be completed at a cost of Rs80 to 90 billion spanning over a ten-year period.

These universities will be developed in partnership with consortiums of engineering universities in Germany, France, Sweden, Austria, Korea and the Netherlands.

Speaking on the occasion, President Musharraf reiterated his emphasis on development of human resource as a way forward to sustained development.

He said the initiative of setting up engineering universities would provide synergy between higher education and the country’s industrial advancement and step up the pace of socio-economic development.

From the beginning, the president said, the government had realised the importance of science and technology and increased its budget.

In this context, he cited the huge difference that technological advancement makes in multiplying exports of a country and said the imparting of education in consort with requirements of fast-paced industrial development would lay a strong basis for long-term progress.

In his remarks, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government is focused on preparing the youth of the country in accordance with development needs on modern lines. The government, he said, will commit financial resources for establishment of these centres of excellence.

The six universities will be set up as part of a federal university system, close to industrial areas of major cities of Pakistan, and first classes at these universities will commence by 2008.

In the first ten years, about 300 to 400 of the brightest students would be sent abroad for training in foreign universities and during this training phase they will undergo tertiary level training.

These universities will be headed by leading foreign university academics in the first ten years.

The head of the Higher Education Commission, Dr Attaur Rehman, said the presence of leading foreign professors at key positions in the first ten years will help ensure high international standards of education at these institutions.

“In addition, we will also have external quality assurance agencies located in these countries, monitoring the examination system so that we are at par, and there will be complete equivalence between these universities and the universities in the respective foreign countries so that the students who study for one or two years in Pakistan, can carry on abroad and spend additional years in foreign universities.”—APP