Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Thursday underlined the need for opening schools abroad in order to provide quality and affordable education to the children of Pakistani community. The committee, met here with Hilal-ur-Rehman in the chair, directed the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) to chalk out a plan for extending its educational services to the kids of Pakistani Diaspora residing across the world.
‘It is imperative for the OPF to establish its educational institutions in the foreign countries for providing education facility to the children of those overseas Pakistanis who are facing financial constraints abroad,’ Senator Mirza Muhammad Afridi said while highlighting the issues being faced by the Pakistani expatriates in this regard. He said ignorance of this issue, during the stint of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, would not give a positive message to the expatriate Pakistanis who had been supporting Prime Minister Imran Khan since his entrance in the country’s politics.
Senator Syed Muhammad Sabir Shah said that the OPF should take the Pakistani embassies on board and arrange scholarships for the kids of overseas Pakistanis studying abroad in various disciplines. Senator Shahzad Waseem said it was the responsibility of government to offer quality and economical education to the children of overseas Pakistanis within the country as well as abroad.
He underscored the importance of drafting a legislation which could bind every school in the country to introduce quota for overseas Pakistanis’ children. Managing Director OPF Amir Sheikh said the opening of schools abroad did not came under the foundation’s jurisdiction, however, some 32 schools were operating in other countries for Pakistani community under the auspices of Foreign Office.
Senator Afridi said the performance of those schools was not up to mark, thus prompting a need for setting up new intuitions. The new schools should be run under the OPF’s supervision, he added. Amir said around 1.6 million Pakistanis were residing in the United Arab Emirates only, for which many of schools had to be established there. The proposal was not realistic as it required huge financial assistance, he added. Amir pointed out that the big states like China and India had not taken such initiatives in the past. Afridi said Indian community had opened its own schools in Malaysia and was offering special discounts to its community.
