Education should be free from politics, says Shafqat Mahmood

While inaugurating the National Institute of Virology at the Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), Karachi University, on Wednesday, Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood said the government was trying to unite all provinces on one point of education as this sector should be free from politics.

He said the government would steadily enforce a unified education system in the country to mitigate class differences between rich and poor classes. He informed the participants that the federal education ministry was working on many projects to enhance the quality of education in all faculties of education.

The federal government had allocated Rs59 billion for the higher education sector, he said, adding that government had taken a major step towards introducing a uniform syllabus in the country.

On the occasion, Karachi University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Mehmood Iraqi, Prof Dr Atta ur Rahman, chairman of the Prime Minister’s National Task Force on Science and Technology, Director ICCBS Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, and Chairman HEJ Foundation Aziz Latif Jamal were also present.

“I am pleased that a world-class institution to work on understanding the causes of the viral diseases has been inaugurated today, which I am confident will play a key role in the prevention and treatment of viral disease in the country,” he said while talking about the newly established research centre.

The emergence of several viral diseases in the last two decades, such as dengue haemorrhagic fever, Zika, Chikungunya and Congo fever, had challenged the existing healthcare system of the country, he said.

The virology research centre, the first of its type, owned the state-of-the-art technologies for cutting-edge instruments to conduct scientific investigation on viral and other diseases. Addressing the audience, Prof Atta ur Rahman said significant investments worth billions of rupees were being made in a multitude of projects related to the industry, agriculture, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, industrial biotechnology, space sciences etc.

Talking about the prominence of the ICCBS, he said that this internationally renowned research establishment owned four major aspects, which included its quality faculty, uppermost trained technicians, bright students, and public-private partnership.

Prof Khalid Mehmood Iraqi said that establishment of this world-class institute was a key step forward towards the capacity building in the field of virology in Pakistan. He pointed out that the state-of-the-art building of the new institute was equipped with most modern tools and facilities for frontier research in this important field of virology.

Prof Iqbal Choudhary said that the virology research centre, the first of its type, owned the state-of-the-art technologies for cutting-edge instruments to conduct a scientific investigation on viral and other diseases to contribute knowledge policy and practise and engage in capacity development for improved public health in Pakistan.

He said one the highest prevalence of hepatitis in Pakistan was causing considerable mortality and morbidity to people, and adversely affecting the national economic revival. Polio, non-existing in the world, had become a matter of national esteem for Pakistan, he said.

A message of Nadira Panjwani, chairperson of Dr Panjwani Memorial Trust, was read out by an official. In her message, she welcomed the federal minister and other participants in the ceremony, and said that the establishment of the virology research centre was yet another milestone for her organisation. It was, by all means, an essential need for the country’s healthcare infrastructure, she added.

Saman Aziz Jamal, in her speech, said that the HEJ Foundation had established three world-class science institutions at the ICCBS, apart from providing continuous help to the HEJ scientists, as well as establishing several industry-related laboratories. The most recent contribution of the foundation was the establishment of the Latif Ebrahim Jamal Nanotechnology Research Institute to be inaugurated soon, she maintained.