2000-11-30

Call for increase in education budget

PESHAWAR, April 25: Educationists at a seminar have expressed concern over meagre allocations for the education sector by successive governments and called upon the present rulers to allocate maximum funds for education to ensure achievement of 100 per cent literacy target by the end of 2015.

They were speaking at the pre-budget seminar at Peshawar Press Club, held under the auspices of Tanzeem-i-Asatiza Pakistan (TAP-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) on Monday. TAP central president Prof Ikram Mohammad was the chief guest on the occasion.

Prominent among the speakers were TAP (KP) president Misbahullah, vice president Khairullah Havari and Officers School Association president Nisar Mohammad. Senior educationists and teachers from colleges and universities were also in the audience.

The speakers demanded implementation of the recommendations of Pay and Pension Commission to address problems of the teachers in the country.

Prof Ikram said that the government had presented mini budgets in the form of different taxes which had directly affected the common man. He said that the education sector was allocated 2 per cent of the GDP, but that too was not materialised.

He claimed that 49 per cent of the total education budget of the country was implemented in Punjab during the last financial year while the budgets in other provinces had not been spent on promotion of education. He said that it was the duty of the state to provide all basic facilities in education institutions.

Prof Ikram said provision of adequate funds allocation, basic infrastructure, facilities and access to education were essential to promotion of education in the country.

Giving an overview of the state of education in the country, he said that 17,000 educational institutions had no shelter, 500,000 no electricity, 66,000 no drinking water, 80,000 no boundary walls and 82,000 lacked latrine facility. He said that
the lit eracy rate was gradually declining in the country.

The dropout rate is about 60 per cent in the country, he claimed and stressed the need for allocation of maximum funds to meet 100 per cent literacy target by end of 2015. He called for retaining the Higher Education Commission to maintain uniformity in curriculum development process.

No comments:

Post a Comment