LAHORE: Calling role of higher education crucial in ensuring development, Punjab Minister for Higher Education Syed Raza Ali Gillani has said that this (higher education) sector converted students as future leaders to steer Pakistan towards progress and prosperity.
Addressing a peace seminar here at the University of Education, he said that it was important that students should take keen interest in research-studies as well as promoting creative thinking so that they could find out-of-the-box solutions in their respective fields. This would help Pakistan go along the developed nations confidently, he told the audience and received feedback with huge applause.
In collaboration with the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC), the Centre for Peace and Secular Studies (CPSS) has organised the seminar. UoE Vice Chancellor Dr Rauf-e-Azam and popular television anchorperson Sohail Ahmad Warraich also addressed the faculty and large number of students from all three campuses of the university. PHEC Director General Dr Shahid Saroya was also present on the occasion.
In his interactive address, the minister maintained that different steps had been taken to improve standard of higher education in Punjab and pointed out that one 100,000 laptops would be distributed among talented students during the financial year 2016-17. He said that the students were the best ambassadors who can bring laurels for the country through their hard work.
Dr Rauf-e-Azam shed light on different factors that were transforming the country into an intolerant society. “We have developed many kinds of intolerance within ourselves. We need to correct them,” he said. “We must know that we are not an intolerant nation. The only problem we have is that we tolerate things that should not be tolerated,” he said. “I am here to say that we are intolerant towards things that can or should be tolerated,” he said.
On the occasion, students presented a stage-show depicting the menace of terrorism. Raza Gillani distributed shields among the winning students. After the seminar, CPSS Director Saeeda Diep told media that the agenda (of the seminar) was to enlighten the youth about the importance of peace and tolerance as the backbone to a stable, progressive and serene Pakistan.
The speakers recalled the tragic incident of the Army Public School (APS) of Peshawar that took away 144 precious lives of school-going children and left a never-ending dent on the lives of the whole nation. They emphasised on the urgent need for creating gateways towards peace, tolerance and acceptance of coexistence, leaving no space for terrorism and extremism to overshadow Pakistan’s peaceful image.
