Education minister stresses technical education for economic development

F.P. Report

LAHORE: Caretaker Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Madad Ali Sindhi has emphasised the importance of skills development and technical education for the youth to ensure economic development of the country.

He was addressing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony, held at the Virtual University (VU) of Pakistan here on Friday. The MoU was signed between VU and the National Vocational & Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), aimed at jointly developing and launching technical and vocational education training (TVET) e-learning programmes. VU Rector Prof. Dr. Arshad Salem and NAVTTC Executive Director Aamir Jan signed the MoU.

The minister congratulated both the organisations for officially entering into a strategic partnership, saying that the collaboration seeks to revolutionise TVET in the country by leveraging VU’s expertise in online professional development programmes. Madad Ali Sindhi said that Pakistan’s future lies in enhancing youth employability by improving soft and hard skills, required at workplaces. Elaborating on skills, he stressed the need to enhance opportunities for the youth to learn skills across country.

He acknowledged the working of NAVTTC and suggesting them to enhance their publicity campaign as it was also critical to achieve results. He was of the view that skills development and technical education have played an important role for country’s development and also proved to be a source of opportunities for the youth.

The minister expressed his displeasure at prevailing situation of the public sector schools, saying that the condition of government schools needs to be improved as education was among the basic facilities of citizen and around 80 per cent children are studying in these schools.

He suggested that political governments should form a comprehensive strategy for bringing betterment in the education system and improving the condition of public sector schools across country.

Executive Director Aamir Jan highlighted the working of NAVTTC, saying that the commission as the regulatory body would play a pivotal role by providing a list of trades for digitalization, facilitating subject experts, and jointly certifying successful trainees. He said that labours’ skills development was top priority of the commission and various skilled development programmes were being carried out with assistance of educational intuitions and private sector. Around 378,000 people would be given training in the government sector in 2023-24, he added.

Virtual University Rector Prof. Dr. Arshad Salem told the audience that under the agreement, the VU would spearhead the digitalization of TVET qualifications, develop cutting-edge content, and implement a robust online learning management system.

The partnership was strategically designed to enhance the skills and employability of youth across diverse segments, including underprivileged areas, contributing to poverty reduction and industrial growth, he added.

At the end of the ceremony, the VU Rector presented honorary shields to Federal Minister Madad Ali Sindhi and NAVTTC Executive Director Aamir Jan. (APP)