SWABI – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Ameer Haidar Khan Hoti said here on Saturday that Awami National Party government has given top priority to education and it is one of the objectives they have mentioned in their manifesto of 2008 elections.
He was addressing the ceremony after laying the foundation of University of Swabi (UoS) at Khan Abdul Wali Khan University (KAWKU) campus at Anbar, announcing the upgradation of the campus to the status of full-fledged varsity. The project director of the UoS and Vice Chancellor KAWKU, Dr Ihsan also graced the ceremony.
The notification of UoS was handed over by the Chief Minister to an old Khudai Khidmatgar who belongs to Tehsil Chota Lahor, Mir Hasan
Baba. He is one of the old followers of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, he said, adding that it was Bacha Khan who initiated the process of imparting education to the young Pukhtuns during his campaign to awaken people against the British colonials.
He said that Rs 330 million has been released by the provincial government to commence construction of the university and acquiring land for it without any delay.
He said that each year Rs 250 million tobacco cess would also be utilised by the government in the construction of UoS.
He said they have used all the powers delegated to the provincial government under the 18th Amendment and it was this law, which granted a true provincial autonomy, which was a dream earlier. He came down heavily on all former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments who he said failed to boost the education sector.
The chief minister said that they have pledged with the masses during the 2008 elections that they would try their level best to give pen to the young generation of Pukhtuns instead of klashnikov and they have succeeded to the great extend and the record is very clear. Once the youngsters get modern education they would no longer fall into the wrong hands.
“We have increased the budget of the higher education. In year 2007 the higher education budge was 1 billion and 37 crore but now it has been increased to Rs 5 billion and 37 crore by the present regime of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said. “The government has provided opportunities to the youngsters of the entire province to acquire latest modern education.”
In addition, he said that it was the ANP government, which upgraded the scale of the teachers and provide them a structure of service.
He said that only in the district Swabi they have built 500 more educational institutions, enabling the students to get education. Rehmanullah, former MNA also spoke on the occasion.