President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday urged the need to accelerate the pace of adopting emerging Information Technology (IT) tools for rapid socio-economic development of the country.
Addressing the 10th convocation ceremony of the Karakoram International University (KIU), the president said by focusing on the human resource development of youth and equipping them with marketable skills, Pakistan could achieve fast-paced socio-economic growth within a short span of time.
The president underlined the need to financially empower women by including them in the mainstream economy and providing them jobs in different professions. He also urged the female graduates to remain part of the workforce as the State and society had made a huge investments in their education.
Dr Alvi said the latest information technology tools had enabled women to undertake part-time jobs and offer their services online from their homes. He said business loans on easy terms and conditions had made finances available for women entrepreneurs, however, he stressed the need to increase the number of such loans.
The president highlighted that during the 80s and 90s, Pakistan exported its best human resource abroad which depleted the country of qualified and highly skilled human resources. He said that conducive conditions to retain skilled human resources in the country must be created to ensure fast-track progress and development.
The president urged the youth to combine their knowledge and skills with high moral values and ethical standards for a productive professional life. He said it was the added responsibility of educated sections of society to bring the uneducated and unskilled population into the mainstream by providing them with knowledge and skills.
Earlier, Vice-Chancellor of Karakoram International University (KIU) Dr Ataullah Shah in his welcome address said that KIU was playing an active role in promoting high-quality education in remote areas of Gilgit-Baltistan. He stated that KIU had provided scholarships to a large number of male and female students through the Ehsaas programme to extend higher education opportunities to the underprivileged sections of society.
The president also distributed medals among the best performing students on the occasion.
