Journalists to get 10 scholarships for PhD annually
ISLAMABAD – Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Muhammad Ali Durrani has said the government would provide scholarships to at least 10 journalists every year for attaining PhD degree.
“The government is committed to provide capacity-building facilities to the journalist community and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has consented to provide 100 per cent scholarships to 10 journalists for acÂquiring the Ph.D. degree,” he said.
The ministry would soon finalise a criteria for the aspiring candidates, he said this while addressing the participants of a three-day meeting of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Dastoor Group, here on Thursday at Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) Headquarters.
PBC Director General Ashfaq Condal, PIO Rasheed Chaudhry, President PFUJ Nawaz Raza, and PFUJ delegates from all over the country were present on the occasion.
Durrani further said the government was also working to establish journalists Welfare Fund with a transparent mechanism.
The first-ever Media University in the Muslim world would start functioning this year in Islamabad with its satellite campuses in major Pakistani cities.
Short and long term courses would be available for the caÂpacity-building of the journalists which would make the journalists more dynamic, professional and responsible,” he said.
Durrani said the journalist community had earned its freedom by rendering sacrifices with sheer dedication and commitment. He added that the press freedom had facilitated the delivery of rights to the common citizen and it has also supported the goal of good governance.
“Since the media is best accountability tool, it has made the government’s functioning more transparent and efficient,” he said and added the press should also keep the national interest supreme.
“Though the past regimes used the word ‘national interest’ for trivial motives, the present government aims at respecting the ‘Pakistaniat’, the name and geographic boundaries of Pakistan,” he said and added that no compromise could be made over the national interest.
Senator Durrani said the lively nations always keep the national objectives supreme and Pakistani nation was ready to face any challenge in this regard. He hoped that media institutions would be more responsible regarding the national objectives.
On the implementation of Wage Award, Senator Durrani said though the issue was already in a court, the government had taken all the stakeholders on board and consultation process was on.
“DC PBC Ashfaq Gondal has held meetings with media institutions’ owners, workers and journalists and soon a positive breakthrough would be ensured,” he said and added that an out-of-court settlement of the issue, would be evolved.
Source: The Nation
Date:2/23/2007
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