Project being launched to link varsities thru internet
ISLAMABAD: The government is launching a project to interlink colleges and universities through internet, science and technology minister Prof Attaur Rehman said on Friday.
He said 15 to 20 public as well as private universities were to be interlinked under the project, which would be finalized by the end of September. Talking about the significance of the project, he said a lecture delivered at the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute could be seen at far flung areas like Khuzdar.
The minister was speaking at the 3rd all-members meeting and kaleidoscope (exhibition), organized by the Human Resource Development Network.
Thirteen NGOs have set up 25 stalls at the exhibition, which also features handicrafts by enterprising rural communities from all over the country. The proceeds from items sold will benefit the artisans.
Literature and general information leaflets on issues like violence against women and children are available at the exhibition. A variety of items like “Begum Jangi”, dates from Turbat, and hand-woven Khadder, have also been displayed.
The minister reiterated that four digital television channels, exclusively for education, would start functioning. However, he lamented that the PTV2, which was launched with the financial assistance of the Japanese government for education purposes only, had been turned into a channel for dance and music.
He said human resource development and education were the key to the true development of the country, because these means were used to explore and utilize resources in a better way.
The real challenge, he said, was to improve the quality of life by bringing into use creativity, which was possible only through education.
Mr Rehman said the experts in science and technology played a pivotal role in the country’s development. He said the GDP of small European countries was far better than that of oil- producing Arab countries, because of absence of infrastructure and scientific base in the latter.
“Today’s world is a knowledge-driven world, where the importance of natural resources has diminished. Today’s world is a world of ideas, skills and thoughts,” he observed.
The annual profit made by some companies is larger than the entire GDP of Pakistan. Likewise, some companies have sales higher than those of the entire Islamic world, the minister said.
He said the quantum of total human knowledge was going to double in just seven to eight years. On one hand, there was an explosion of knowledge, while on the other, countries like Pakistan had little time to catch up, he said. This is the reason the government is providing basic infrastructure, which is far superior than that in India.
Earlier, Roomi S. Hayat, chairperson of the HRD Network, presented a brief history of the objectives and programmes of the organization. He also presented a preview of the website of the HRD Network, which was formally launched on Friday. He said the website had been developed to provide a databases of development organizations and professionals.
He said his organization provided a platform for non- government and government agencies to pool their resources and share experiences in the development arena. He said, currently, 42 organizations and over 80 individuals working in the development sector were members of his organization.
Source: Dawn
Date:8/24/2002
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