Islamabad: The allocation of funds for education sector must be on top priority as our country needs qualified scientists, researchers and economist to drive the economy forward and increase the rate of economic growth.
Government has introduced various education policies but education sector needs immediate attention from the public sector. Thus there is a dire need to increase the educational budget because without doubling education budget, Pakistan could not address the numerous challenges, Yassar Sakhi Butt, President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has stated this in a statement.
ICCI President said that Government should encourage research in higher education institutions which would accelerate economic growth of the country. He said that immediate measures should also be adopted to develop think tank which could contribute in developing future roadmap and strategy for the economic uplift.
He was of the view that in Pakistan the budget allocated to education was very low. He said that Pakistan was now on just twelve countries that spend less than 2 percent of GDP on education, although education enjoyed the highest priority on the social sector agenda, which as a whole was poorly funded when compared to defence, general administration and debt servicing.
ICCI President referred to a report that shows the budgetary allocation for education sector in various countries as per their GDPs; Cuba 18.7 percent of GDP, Brunei 9.1 percent, Iran 4.9 percent, Sweden 7.7 percent, UK 5.3 percent, US 5.7 percent, Malaysia 8.1 percent, Yemen 9.5 percent, India about 6 percent and Pakistan allocated less than 2 percent of GDP for education sector. He urged the government to increase the education budget by at least 4 percent of GDP in upcoming budget.
Yassar Sakhi Butt said that labor force needs to be educated and capacity building programs must be launched for their effective and productive role in the national economy.
ICCI President said in order to move towards knowledge-base economy, allocating more funds for education is must and as a result human capital would be improved which will ultimately accelerate the pace of economic growth.
For more information, contact:
Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Chamber House, Aiwan-e-Sanat-o-Tijarat Road, Mauve Area, G-8/1,
Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +9251 225 0526 and 225 3145
Fax: +9251 225 2950
Email: icci@brain.net.pk
Website: www.icci.com.pk