TAXILA, Oct 30: For Shazia Bugti, her conservative background will not become a hindrance to achieving her goal — to become a CSS officer.

“It is my dream to become an officer and serve my people to get them out of deprivation and extreme poverty”, said the Grade 10 student while talking to this reporter at Heavy Industries Taxila Education City (Hitec).

It was hard to believe that the young girl with bright eyes and confident look belonged to remote and far flung area of Balochistan where for woman getting education is considered a sin.

Shazia Bugti is among 187 students who are getting education at this prestigious institution under federal government development programme for Balochistan and Fata.

As hopes of bright future sprouting in her eyes she said that most of the schools in her area are closed due to lack of staff and other facilities, besides uncertainty in the area. As a result of which the doors of education are closed especially for girls.

Sila Khan, another girl belonging to Lora Lai area of Balochistan, is the youngest among the Baloch students studying at Hitec and is living in the hostel.

She said she felt sad when she left her parents but the motivation of becoming an educated and well groomed youth of Balochistan overcame her sadness.

She said that she was lucky to be selected for studying at Hitec as it would change the fate of not only her community but the whole tribe.

Sumreen, a girl from far flung and remote area of Barkhan District located in the north-East of the Balochistan province said that it was first time that she came out of her district.

She said that the Hitec had given her confidence and power to speak. She said that now during short span of time she was able to fluently speak Urdu and English.

She praised the idea of equipping Baloch youth with quality education so that they could become an agent of change for Balochistan.

Rashida from Naseerabad, daughter of a small farmer, while talking to this reporter said that selecting students from remote and less developed areas and bringing them into a mainstream was a laudable idea of the present government which would remove sense ofdeprivation among them.

Brig (retired) Taj Iqbal, Hitec administrator said that the education city was providing quality education under a team of dedicated andprofessional educationists.

He said Hitec was ready to accommodate more students from Balochistan.