ISLAMABAD, Nov 21 (APP): An Information and Technology Park established in Skardu by the Government of Gilgit Baltistan with the help of Special Communication Organisation would provide a springboard to the young generation, enabling them to surf through the modern-day tech requirements.
Gilgit Baltistan Chief Secretary Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani told APP on Monday that GB’s landscape would be altered to bring it at par with the smart cities of the developed world and its economic base would be expanded through technological advancement and provision of modern educational facilities.
Moreover, he said the facilities like uninterrupted power supply and highspeed broadband were being provided to various start-ups located in its vicinity which would encourage the youth to seek new avenues of employment and broaden the region’s workforce base.
“Every generation needs a new revolution and here in Gilgit Baltistan, we believe in the technology revolution,” the chief secretary said.
In order to exploit the bright talent in higher education, the chief secretary, who is also the Chairperson of Karakoram Cooperative Bank Limited, has come up with ‘Taleem Finance’ scheme.
Under the scheme, the students from Gilgit Baltistan securing admission in the top 15 universities of Pakistan would be provided with a 100 percent loan covering all the fees and stipends associated with their higher education programme. The loan would be recovered after five years of the completion of their studies, Wani explained.
He said the GB had already extended the loan facility to a young girl who secured admission at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) enabling her to fulfill the dream of growth and development.
He further informed that around 184 educational institutions were being solarised in GB as part of the efforts to materialize the vision of bringing about a technological revolution in the region.
The chief secretary said as the GB had made a great stride towards digitization of educational institutions, the provision of uninterrupted power supply was inevitable to achieve the objective.
“While we have made a great stride towards digitization of our educational institutions, it would all be futile if there is no electricity to power the digital skeleton in these schools. We do realise it, and for the very purpose we are solarising 184 educational hubs around the region,” he added.
Wani said the solarised schools would not only be provided with solar backup but also have an additional battery backup to cope with even the worst power outages.
The chief secretary, who is putting in unprecedented efforts to bring about a change in the mountainous region by uplifting the people’s living standard and equipping the youth with modern technological tools, had led to the establishment of a software technology park in Skardu, after Gilgit.
