IJT Pakistan rejects money allocated for education sector in the budget announced for next financial year while terming it as insufficient

ISLAMABAD, June 11 (SABAH): Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba Pakistan has rejected the money allocated for the education sector in the budget announced for next financial year while terming it as insufficient. 

While addressing a press conference along with the members of the Central Shoora of the Jamiat, Nazim-e-Aala IJT Pakistan Shakeel Ahmad demanded allocation of minimum four percent budget for the education sector for next financial year 2022-23 of federal government.

He said that contradictory to the promises, the education remained not the priority of any government, adding that this is reason that Pakistan is only top of Afghanistan in South Asia in Human Resource Development Index. He said that 22.8 million children are deprived of the basic facility of school, which is 44 percent of the population aged between 5 to 16 years. He said that the government while ensuring the budget demanded by Higher Education Commission (HEC) should play its role in giving due right to the education sector.

Shakeel Ahmed also demanded decrease in the fees of the educational institutions and increase in the grants of the universities in the time of high inflation.

Nazim-e-Aala IJT Pakistan said that in the result of the cut in the funds of the universities by the government and decrease in the seats in universities and violation of the merit in the admissions provide opportunity to the private universities to make decisions according to their own discretion. He said that regulatory authority should be established to stop the charging of fees and teaching of syllabus of the private universities own choice. He said that money should be allocated for fulfilling the needs of transport and hostels of the educational institutions especially colleges and universities.

Shakeel Ahmad also expressed concerns for not allocating the proper budget for research purposes. He said that proper buildings should also be provided for the new campuses of the universities. Shakeel Ahmad also demanded ending the unwanted taxes imposed on education. While welcoming the restoration of the laptop scheme, Shakeel Ahmad demanded that special steps should be taken for the IT Education of the students. While announcing the establishment of the educational budget revenue committee, Shakeel Ahmad said that if the government will not implement the recommendations of the committee then the students from whole country will reach Islamabad.