=> ISLAMABAD: The government is according high priori
ISLAMABAD: The government is according high priority to the development of information technology sector and to provide quality education to the young generation. This has contributed to economic growth and generates employment opportunities.
Prime Minister Muhammadmian Soomro said this while addressing the concluding ceremony of the Outreach Scholarship Programme (OSP) 2007 at the Prime Minister Secretariat on Tuesday afternoon.
He said the government’s initiatives in promotion of information technology demonstrated its commitment to human resource development in the country.
Highlighting the importance of education and skill development for a knowledge-based economy, the prime minister said an illiterate nation could not make progress. He said information and communications technology was a keystone of the knowledge economy that the government was trying to establish in the country. He said economic activities in the present age were increasingly moving towards knowledge-driven processes.
Soomro said developing countries were recognising the need to rapidly increase their knowledge base through incremental investments in human resource development, which is the key to gaining competitive advantage in the current global environment.
He said the benefits of economic growth should reach all segments of the society and all regions of the country.
Soomro said the government was pursuing a multi-pronged poverty reduction strategy. Providing opportunities of quality education to deserving students from backward areas is part of this strategy.
He said information technology and telecom sectors were going through rapid growth with large local and foreign investment being infused into these sectors. He said the deregulation of the telecom sector had attracted large-scale foreign investment.
The prime minister said the students were the future leaders of the country and the future of Pakistan depended on the quality of education we would give to our younger generation.
He advised the students to take keen interest in studies and extra-curricular activities. He said our Holy Prophet (PBUH) emphasised the value of learning by saying that we should seek knowledge even if we have to go to China.
Soomro said Pakistan had a bright future. “Our people are the best and the ablest in the world. It is for our younger generation to ensure that Pakistan emerges as a strong, developed and vibrant country and Pakistanis can hold their head high in the comity of nations.”
The Outreach Scholarship Programme is meant for deserving students of deprived areas of Pakistan, who will be able to pursue information and communications technology education in top universities of the country.
The gathering was also addressed by federal minister Dr Abdullah Riar, Muhammad Qasim and Nooruddin Baqai. Later, the prime minister distributed cash prizes and medals among the talented students of the four provinces and teachers of the universities.
Source: The News
Date:1/30/2008
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