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Dubai: Pakistan will establish a technology-focused university offering free education to students selected purely on merit, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Wednesday as he unveiled a series of initiatives aimed at expanding opportunities for the country\u2019s youth<\/p>\n
The new institution, to be called Daanish University, will focus on technology education and will admit students without regard to their financial circumstances, Dawn reported<\/p>\n
Shehbaz made the announcement at an event in Islamabad marking International Youth Day, where he also acknowledged that Pakistan remained \u201cstill far\u201d from becoming the social welfare state envisioned at the time of the country\u2019s creation<\/p>\n
The prime minister used the occasion to highlight what he described as a stark divide in educational opportunities between wealthy and poorer families<\/p>\n
\u2018Two Pakistans\u2019 in education<\/h2>\n
Shehbaz said children from affluent families had access to Pakistan\u2019s best educational institutions and could go on to study at leading universities in Britain and North America<\/p>\n
But millions of other young Pakistanis who desperately wanted an education were denied even basic opportunities, he said<\/p>\n
He presented the Daanish schools, which he established while serving as Punjab chief minister, as one way of narrowing that divide by providing quality education to children from poorer families<\/p>\n
Thousands of Daanish school graduates had since become doctors, engineers and teachers, Shehbaz said, describing their progress as part of efforts to realise Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah\u2019s vision for Pakistan<\/p>\n
Addressing students attending the event, the prime minister stressed that Pakistan could not afford to leave its large youth population without the skills needed to progress<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we could not give you essential skills, then we won\u2019t be forgiven in this world or the next,\u201d Dawn quoted him as saying<\/p>\n
Students to study AI in China<\/h2>\n
Shehbaz also announced an expansion of state-funded opportunities for high-achieving Pakistani students to study in China<\/p>\n
As last year, 1,000 students will be sent to China for agricultural education. In addition, high-performing students will this year be given opportunities to study information technology and artificial intelligence in China at government expense<\/p>\n
Shehbaz said funds had been allocated in the current budget for youth empowerment and development<\/p>\n
At the event, he also inaugurated the Power Sector Innovation Programme, the National Youth Employment Policy and the Skills Ambassador Programme<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Prime Minister\u2019s Youth Programme Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan praised Shehbaz\u2019s efforts to create opportunities for young Pakistanis and said the country\u2019s progress was increasingly being recognised internationally<\/p>\n
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