FCCI chief emphasises growth of IT sector for better future

FAISALABAD: Our economic future is directly linked with the expeditious growth of the IT (Information Technology) sector and we must focus on its promotion to make Pakistan economically stable and progressive. During the meeting with the Vice Chancellor Government College Women University Faisalabad (GCWUF) Ms. Professor Dr. Robina Farooq, said Dr. Khurram Tariq, President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI).

Dr. Khurram Tariq said that our education system is suffering from contradictions. He said that the Pakistani universities were rolling out human resources but out of it half remain out of the national mainstream. He said that thus half of the amount spent on education goes to drain in addition to creating hurdles in achieving the cherished objectives of progress and prosperity. He was also critical of the syllabus offered by our education institutions and said that most of the courses have become obsolete and redundant.

“We must transform our universities into technology-oriented institutes”, he said and quoted a survey that said, we could not establish much needed technology parks in industrial estate developed by FIEDMC as there is no access to high-speed internet and uninterrupted power supply. “Other related infrastructure and basic paraphernalia is also lacking”, he added. He said that it is a pity that we have no data centre in Pakistan which could provide us with reliable statistics about different segments of the economy for long term planning.

President FCCI said that despite all these hurdles, we have to move forward. About the performance of incubation centers, he said that these are producing skilled workers who could earn only 3 to 5 dollars per hour whereas the developed countries are producing experts who could earn up to 500 dollars per hour. He said that an animation studio was established in Faisalabad which was facing closure like situation due to multiple reasons. He said that IT orders worth billions of Dollars were shifted to Ukraine after the Ukraine-Russian war but not even a single dollar was tapped by Pakistan. Quoting the example of India, he said that it was earning billions of dollars only by the export of IT as it needs no heavy investment like the textile sector.

President FCCI said that we must promote Faisalabad as a hub of IT so that it could be promoted and recognized globally as Faisalabad. He said that we should not delay and immediately start work on this emerging segment to harvest its dividends within the next few years. He stressed the need to create harmony among industry and academia and said that the existing Vice Chancellor’s committee has missed to address this issue; however we must update our syllabus and synchronize it with our futuristic vision.

Dr. Khurram Tariq underlined the need for a balanced approach in policy formulation as rudderless approach may dampen our efforts. In this connection, he said that our isolated focus on female education encouraged girls. “They also excelled in different segments”, he admitted but disclosed that after seven year it was revealed that divorce rate has sharply jumped to the highest level due to the matchmaking disparities which also rendered our social structure unbalanced. About existing freelancers, he said that there is a hell of difference between entrepreneurship and freelancers.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022