Govt doubles S&T budget: Shibli

Islamabad : The Pakistan Science Foundation on Wednesday announced increase in the prize money for ‘Youth Recognition Programme’ prize winning students from Rs10,000 to Rs100,000.

The announcement was made by Federal Minister for Science and Technology (S&T) Senator Shibli Fraz while addressing an event organised under ‘Youth Recognition Programme’ at Pakistan Science Foundation. He said that the Pakistan Science Foundation’s programmes have boosted youth talent and science students have converted deprivation into opportunities.

Coordinator General Comstech Dr. Iqbal Chaudhry, Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation Prof. Dr. Shahid Mahmood Baig also addressed the function. Winners of top positions in international science competitions including Haris, Zakia Tul Jannat and Umair Masood also shared their experiences with the audience. Speaking on this occasion the Federal Minister for S&T said that questioning is the most important factor that leads toward moving forward in science and technology. He said that Muslim scientists laid the foundation of Mathematics and arithmetic but later on we remained behind in these subjects.

Shibli Faraz said that society discourages questioning. He asked students to thoroughly investigate for reaching to the conclusion on any matter. He said the government has doubled the budget for S&T and we will expand our talent programmes for providing more opportunities to students. The Minister appreciated the PSF efforts for providing science students best opportunities to excel in national and international competitions. Coordinator Genral Comstech Dr. Iqbal Chaudhry in his address said that motivation and inspiration are the catalysts for excelling in any field and achieving the goals and targets. Many factors trigger motivation and inspiration but the most important are the elements of competition and the desire of proving the best one among others and its recognition, he added. The science competitions including science quiz, essays, posters, models, innovations and projects etc., at the national and international levels are the best way of science popularization and generating students’ interest in science. These competitions not only motivate students for hard work to win but also their interaction with other students open their minds for learning new things about science and creativity, the federal secretary maintained. The winning students also become role models for other students and become a source of inspiration as well as motivation, he concluded.