Rawalpindi - Engineer Qamar-ul-Islam, the chairman of Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) as well as standing committee on education, has said that a state-of-the-art academic block would be constructed in University of Engineering Taxila (UET).
The construction work of the building, which would house environmental engineering, industrial engineering, electronics engineering, engineering management and basic sciences departments, would be completed in two years, he said. He expressed these views while laying the foundation stone of the block here on Saturday.
Qamar-ul-Islam said that special emphasis was being given to the promotion of higher education in the province as it was the foundation of national development and prosperity. He said that Rs 24 billion were earmarked in the current provincial budget for the higher education, adding that universities were the engine of national development. “The provincial government has continuously encouraged research in education,” he said.
He informed that as many as 600,000 students were enrolled in various colleges and in order to keep them abreast of the latest changes in education, laptops have been given. Similarly, 105 new colleges were being set up in different districts, besides provision of missing facilities in 58 other colleges. Meanwhile, charters have been granted for the establishment of new universities in Punjab, the chairman said.
Qamar asked the faculty members to motivate their students to take keen interest in research-based activities to find durable solutions to the problems faced to our trade and industry. “The students are our biggest asset against challenges and this is why the government has prioritised education so that Pakistan could achieve its objectives and emerge as the shining example in the comity of nations,” concluded Qamar.   
Vice Chancellor (VC) KP University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gillani and Rector PIEEAS Dr Aslam, among others, were also present on the occasion.