ISLAMABAD, Jan 08 (APP):Minister for Federal Education Shafqat Mehmood Wednesday told the National Assembly that 170,000 youth would be given vocational training in the next 20 months to equip them with skills according to demands of the job market.
Speaking during the question hour, he said while under the Prime Minister’s programme, 50,000 undergraduates would be given scholarships this year.
He said the government was focusing on two aspects of higher education to bring it at par with international quality standards.
The stress would be on faculty development and revision of curriculum on a regular basis, he added.
“We are focusing on faculty development and trying to provide education that is relevant to the needs of the market and generates jobs,” he added.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan told the house that Pakistan Television had not yet launched Direct to Home (DTH) service.
The work on the project was started in 2004 but could not be materialized due to the huge upfront cost and legal issues with reference to the act of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).
However, a consultant was hired for a very short period of time for the DTH project but at the moment it was in limbo.
He also informed the house that Ministry of Information Technology was setting special technology parks and was giving IT training to youth.
He said Pakistan had faced a brain drain in the last 20 years and its best minds went abroad but now the brain drain was reversing due to policies of the present government.
