Rs.91 Bln To Be Released For HEC: NA Told

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Augst,2016) : State Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Balighur Rehman on Wednesday apprised the National Assembly an amount of Rs 91 billion would be released to Higher Education Commission (HEC) this year for promoting research activities and higher education in the country.

Replying to various supplementary questions during Question Hour, the minister said the government released Rs.42 billion to HEC last year while Rs.41 billion was given during 2014. He said the HEC has an elaborate training programmes for university teachers and vice chancellors.

The course organized by HEC were of international standard, he added. Baligh said HEC periodically developed, reviewed, and prescribed uniform curricula for undergraduate and graduate programs in universities across the country.

These curricula were developed through National Curriculum Review Committees (NCRCs) comprising representative from universities, professional councils, civil society, and other important stake holders, he said. He said so far curricula for 120 disciplines had been developed since 2001 besides carrying out revisions of 308 curricula.

The curricula were reviewed and revised after every three years, he added.

To another question the minister said some 12304 Non-formal Basic Education Community Schools (BECS) were functioning across the country.

Giving the breakup, he said as many as 5687 BECS were set up in Punjab, 1674 in Sindh, 1399 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 607 in Balochistan, 1061 in FATA, 1425 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 203 in AJK and 248 in the Federal Capital.

However, some 131 BECS in FATA were temporarily closed due to military operation in South and North Waziristan agencies. He said around one million children were getting education in these schools.

He said the past government offered the provinces to own these schools but the provincial governments refused to take it. To another supplementary question, he said four-six months training was provided to 25,000 youth under PM Youth Training Programme during last year while this year the number has been enhanced to 50,000. To a question Balighur Rehman said curriculum was also devolved to the provinces with education.

He said National Curriculum has been set up to formulate a basic curriculum for all provinces. He said it was decided in the Inter Provincial Minister Conference (IPMC) that all decision would be taken with consensus.