Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training, Mr. Shafqat Mahmood held meeting with Vice President (Operations), Asian Development Bank (ADB) Mr. Wencai Zhang and Country Director ADB Xiaohong Yang in Islamabad. Mr. Wencai Zhang said that ADB is working for a long time and has invested in many infrastructure and Social Sector projects not only in Pakistan but in other Asian Countries including China, India, Bangladesh and Srilanka. The Vice President informed the Education Minister about the different Social sector projects particularly in the field of education that ADB is working on in Pakistan and in other countries of Asia. The Vice President ADB, Mr. Wencai Zhang offered ADB support to the Education Minister in the Technical and Skill Development fields and also in the formulation of National Education Policy. “He said that Pakistan should take benefit from the expertise of the ADB and ADB can provide Technical support during the formulation and implementation of National Education Policy”, added Mr. Wencai Zhang. Mr. Wencai Zhang also informed Mr. Shafqat Mahmood that ADB is interested in working with Pakistan in the field of Skill and Capacity development. “Linkages must be developed among the skill development institutes and the job market so that the students after vocational and technical training can get immediate jobs”, added Vice-President ADB. Federal Minister for Education Mr. Shafqat Mahmood appreciated the help and support offered by Mr. Wencai Zhang and stated that Education and Skill Development is the main focus of the present government. He said that Pakistan is facing humongous challenge in the field of education and according to the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan the education ministry is all set to introduce reforms that comprise of Introducing uniform Education & Certification system and uniform curriculum throughout the country, Improving the Quality of education, Skill Development & Vocational training and also to enroll the 25 million out of school children. Another component is to work on the adult education, added the education Minister. Mr. Shafqat Mahmood said that education ministry will also soon introduce a National Education Policy that will address all these challenges. “We are currently assessing the situation, setting our goals and targets and we would like the support of ADB in the formulation and implementation stages”, added the Minister for Education. Both sides agreed to hold further meetings in this regard. Later, the minister was also called on by the ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, H.E. Mr. Nawaf Bin Said Al-Malki and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Pakistan, H.E. Mr. Takashi Kurai. Cooperation in the field of education was discussed and both sides agreed on increased coordination and further meetings to find new avenues of cooperation in education sector. ***
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