ISLAMABAD, Jun 13 (APP): Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal Friday emphasized the need to transform Islamabad’s education system into a model for other provinces, saying it is the government’s responsibility to lead by example.
While reviewing an education sector project during a meeting of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP), the minister questioned whether the federal capital’s education system could currently be held up as a benchmark for the rest of the country.
He stressed that educational reforms in Islamabad must be designed in a way that they become a replicable model for the entire nation. “We must equip students at the primary and middle levels with modern subjects like advanced technology, artificial intelligence and computer coding—just as is being done in developed countries,” he said.
The minister said that despite the federal government spending Rs19 billion annually on the Federal Directorate of Education, the results remain unsatisfactory and stressed the need manage budget with efficiently to achieve desired results.
He proposed that even allocating just one percent of the education budget to hire top professionals from the market for system oversight could lead to transformative improvements in education outcomes.
Criticizing the administrative inefficiencies, the minister remarked that education department offices have become little more than centers for issuing transfer orders, when they should instead be focusing on integrating modern technology into the system.
He acknowledged some progress in urban schools in Islamabad but noted that rural schools continue to suffer from poor conditions.
Ahsan Iqbal directed the Ministry of Education to present a comprehensive roadmap for reforms within a month, aiming to turn Islamabad’s education system into a model worthy of emulation by all provinces.
