KARACHI, Jan 5: Pakistan will set up eight new world class engineering and technology varsities in its different cities with foreign collaboration during the next ten years, said Dr Attaur Rahman, chairman, Higher Education Commission (HEC), on Thursday.

He was talking to newsmen after attending the inaugural session of the 10th international symposium on “Natural product chemistry” at International Centre for Chemical Sciences (ICCS), University of Karachi.

Dr Atta said that the government had decided to embark upon a project aimed at establishing five engineering and 3 technology varsities of international standards and it was likely that a couple of varsities would go functional in two or three years time. The president of Pakistan will be briefed about the entire project, which is likely to cost Rs80-90 billion, on Jan 9, following which the matter would be placed before the Central Working Development Party of the government.

He said that lands for establishing three of the varsities in question had already been made available at Lahore, Karachi and Sialkot, while countries like Germany, Sweden, Austria, Korea and France would be assisting in the process. Initially, foreign experts and senior academics will be engaged on key posts, including those of the vice-chancellors, at the varsities, which would be run under the federal government charter, he added.

He said that a MoU had also been signed between Pakistan and Austria for mutual academic cooperation in the higher education sector and setting up of an engineering university. On average 300 students will be admitted at one university annually for undergraduate education and training in engineering or technology discipline, he informed a questioner, adding that postgraduate education would also be imparted at the varsity on cards.

To another question, he said that it was likely that the government’s spending in the educational sector would be raised up to 4 per cent of the GDP in a couple of years.

Replying to a question, he said that developments and quality were must both in the higher education and primary and secondary education sub-sectors simultaneously as both were complementary to each other.

He said that the government was allocating its budget for school and varsity education at a ratio of 7:1. The present budget allocation of the federal government for higher education is around Rs22 billion, he added.

Earlier, speaking as chief guest at the international symposium, Dr Atta, who is also adviser to the prime minister on science and technology, said that interaction among the scientists of the world, particularly those dealing in the science of chemistry was necessary to harness economic and health benefits of natural product across the globe.

He hoped that the symposium would prove a purposeful meeting of leaders and researchers coming down from both the developed and developing countries.

Dr Atta also informed the gathering about measures the HEC had taken in Pakistan to develop and promote higher education, particularly focussing on infrastructure and faculty development initiatives at varsities and institutions of higher learning.

Coming on the activities of the HEJ Research Institute and its shaping into the third world centre in chemical sciences, Dr Atta said that President Musharraf would inaugurate the LEJ National Science Centre at HEJ, a modern information and communication technology centre, hopefully next month.

The 10th International Symposium on Natural Product Chemistry being organized by ICCS, KU and Pakistan Academy of Sciences will continue till Jan 9.

Speaking at the inaugural session a German scientist, Prof Dr Wolfgang Voelter, said that high quality researches and sophistication in science and technology was possible only when a precise allocation of fund and personal freedom of scientists were ensured.

On the occasion, he also talked about the establishment and development of the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry and role of the German government with special reference to its funding in training programmes and said that it was heartening that the small chemistry centre had now become a prestigious institute of chemistry.

He also paid tributes to the services of late Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, the HEJ founder and lauded the role of Dr Attaur Rahman in bringing the centre into lime light.

Speaking on the occasion KU Vice-Chancellor Dr Pirzada Qasim said that it was pleasant to see the ICCS holding another high standard symposium, wherein about 600 delegates from outside and within the country were participating.

The chairman of Hussein Ebrahim Foundation, Aziz Latif Jamal, and Dr Iqbal Choudhary, the HEJ acting director also spoke on the occasion.

About 196 scientists from abroad are attending the symposium comprising plenary lectures, invited lectures and poster presentation. Each lecture session scheduled to be held at a hotel will focus on a theme within the broader area of natural product sciences. Nobel laureate scientists of the world will also deliver their lectures on different core issues of chemistry.