PESHAWAR -  Chief Minister Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak said that CPEC was a game changer project for the region that required the highest level of preparedness.

Khattak was addressing IT Infrastructure Inaugural Ceremony at Edwards College, Peshawar.

He said that the KP government had made all preparations and had taken a number of steps in this regard.

The Chief Minister said that Information Technology is the most-important sector for the CPEC, which would enhance productive capacity of other sectors.

He asked education institutions to focus on producing experts of information technology to give boost to development projects under the CPEC and non-CPEC projects.

He also called upon the youth to attain high level of professionalism in IT as well as other spheres of higher education to ensure bright future of the nation.

Khattak said that KP had become the most-suitable destination for investment and industrialisation.

The only thing we need to do is to enhance our level of preparedness and produce skilled manpower for the industrial needs in the backdrop of the CPEC, he stated.

We have handed over several training centres to the Pakistan Air Force for producing skilled manpower, he added.

He said that the KP government was addressing education as a challenge in a very comprehensive manner.

We are on our way to make our schools at par with the private sector as we have made a resolve to provide every student in KP with an excellent learning environment, he said.

“We have ensured that schools are provided with missing facilities such as toilets, electricity, drinking water, furniture, IT labs and especially teachers”, he further said.

He lauded the role of Edwards College, Peshawar for promotion of education.

He said that the college had the reputation of producing great leaders serving in all various key sectors. He said that e-learning was a new beginning that would add to accomplishments of the college.

He revealed that a number of steps had been taken for promotion of IT education with allocation of billion of rupees including establishment of information and communication technology centre with a cost of over Rs 596 million,  IT professional training centre for unemployed IT graduates and government employees with over Rs 245 million, IT support for improvement of health service delivery in KP with Rs 198 million, ICT training for women empowerment with Rs 140 million and setting up computer labs with solar system in government institutions with over Rs 108 million.