The federal government has planned to set up computer labs in 1,100 schools and colleges at a cost of Rs 1.8 billion across the country, including Azad Kashmir, Fata and Fana in next three years.
The government in collaboration with the provincial governments would spend Rs 1.8 billion in the next three years for setting up state-of-the-art computer labs in educational institutions in the county.
This was stated by Federal Information Technology and Telecommunication Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, while speaking at the inauguration of a computer laboratory at the Women College on Tuesday.
He said the ministry had set up a research and development fund worth Rs 1 billion in the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and the funding could be available for any research project involving faculty and students. He also offered the faculty and students to submit their research proposals to this fund and promised full funding if they met the selection criterion.
The computer labs at the college was part of a project launched by the Information Technology Ministry in which modern computer labs would be set up at 15 schools and 10 colleges in Islamabad at a cost of Rs 39 million.
Awais said that the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) had approved the project with a view to setting up modern laboratories at selected schools and colleges and the cost of the project would be shared between the federal government and the provinces on "50:50 basis". According to the plan, about 2200 IT teachers and lab in-charges would be provided jobs in the 1,100 government high schools, higher secondary schools and inter-college across the country, AJK, Fata and Fana for imparting computer education from Class IX to XII," he added.
Awais hoped that the project would serve to provide a solid foundation for the IT education by providing requisite resources.
"Its aim is to ensure provision of quality IT education in schools and colleges coupled with the provision of employment to the qualified teachers by providing them reasonable salaries," he added.
He said the project was carefully prepared to minimise gender imbalance in the IT education sector as the selection of schools would be equal for both the genders.
Around 67 percent schools would be picked up from the rural areas. The project would, therefore, serve to minimise the gender divide," he said, adding that the project would also help in developing large pool of IT professionals to take part in the development process and earn foreign exchange for the country."
Brigadier Maqsoodul Hassan (Retd), DG Directorate of Federal Colleges and College Principal Dr Farre, IT Secretary Khalid Saeed and principals of federal colleges were also present on the occasion.