Educational advancement: government appealed to allocate at least four percent of GDP

Vice Chancellor Punjab University, Professor Dr Mujahid Kamran has made an appeal to the government to allocate at least four percent of GDP for educational advancement in order to enable Pakistan to live honourably and attain economic stability in the comity of nations.
He was addressing participants of PU 119th convocation at Faisal Auditorium here on Saturday. Pro vice-chancellor Professor Dr Jamil Anwar Chaudhry, Registrar Professor Muhammad Akhtar, Controller Examinations Dr Zahid Karim Khan, all deans of faculties, principals, directors, heads of departments as well as 790 male and female MPhil/PhD scholars, Masters and undergraduates besides 203 gold/silver medallists and former Ameer Jamaat-i-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmad were also present.
The vice-chancellor said the world is like a battle in which nations compete with each other to achieve dominance and supremacy. Countries having superiority in the field of education and research emerge as victorious. He said in the very first verse of the Almighty's last revealed message, the Holy Quran, mention of knowledge and Qalam has been made while 750 Quranic verses impress upon human beings to ponder over natural phenomena.
He said this law is at the back of rise and fall of nations because only those countries accomplish status of economic and military global power which unravel mysteries of cosmic laws through continuous thinking. He said Pakistan has population of over 170 million people and they are blessed with unimaginable creative faculties on the basis of which it could once again play a leadership role in the world. The real problem lies with ruling class which has failed to realise the key importance of education in nation-building task, he added. All the advanced countries including US spend five to seven percent of their GDP on education while Pakistan allocates only 2 percent of GDP on education. Despite acute paucity of scientific manpower, Pakistan has achieved singular honour of becoming the first and solitary atomic power of the Muslim world while its number is fifth in respect of publication of research thesis.