[Admin]

Govt to involve private sector in setting up varsities

By our correspondent

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to involve the private sector in the construction of a number of planned universities in collaboration with the public sector, for extending help to the Higher Education Commission in accomplishing its assigned task.

Pakistan has an ambitious plan for addressing the key challenge of building quality infrastructure for higher education in the country. In this regard the Government of Pakistan intends to build a number of new universities, especially in the technical areas and also augment the capacity and capability of existing institutions and infrastructure.

In this regard, the role of the private sector and exploiting the potential of public-private partnerships will be crucial. This was stated by CEO IPDF Aijaz Ahmad, in his presentation at the International conference on “Resource Generation and Diversification; from Vision to Reality” organised by the Higher Education Commission here on Tuesday.

Aijaz Ahmad in his presentation elaborated on the potential of Public-Private Partnership and the requisite enabling framework for achieving this objective. In this regard, he enumerated international examples of initiatives undertaken by various governments, both in developing and developed countries, under the Public-Private Partnership modality in building the requisite infrastructure in the education sector.

Discussions at the conference underlined the need for alternate and innovative forms of resource mobilisation and the active involvement of the private sector for imparting education in the country to realise the goals in terms of access, quality and relevance, in view of the global competitive environment. Realising that these efforts will also require private sector participation, there is a need for innovation and diversification in mobilising the necessary funding to achieve international standards in higher education.

Meanwhile, Romanian and Malaysian investors have also expressed interest in investment opportunities in the Infrastructure sector in Pakistan under the Public-Private Partnership modality. A delegation from Romania headed by Marciel Popa currently visiting Pakistan, has evinced interest in participating in the energy and construction industries.

[muslim]

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