ISLAMABAD: The federal government has allocated Rs65 billion in current expenditure for the Higher Education Commission (HEC), while Rs70 billion has been budgeted under development expenditure.
This was maintained by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar while presenting the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24) budget in the national assembly on Friday.
Earlier, Ishaq Dar began the speech by recalling the achievements of the previous PML-N government under Nawaz Sharif. He said that the country was performing well on all fronts, with inflation in the single digits and GDP growth of 6%.
He criticized the previous PTI government for the current economic crisis in the country. Dar said that when the coalition government took over from the PTI in 2022, the country’s economy was in disaster, with forex reserves depleting and the IMF program stalling.
Finance Minister about Education budget allocation
The finance minister emphasized the importance of education, saying that while it is under provincial control, the federal government always played a significant role.
He added that the federal government had proposed an allocation of Rs65 billion under current expenditure for the Higher Education Commission (HEC), while Rs70 billion has been budgeted under development expenditure.
Pakistan Endowment Fund is being established for financial support in the education sector, for which 5 billion rupees are being kept in the budget. The fund will provide merit-based scholarships to high school and college students, the minister said. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar further maintained that goal of the government was to leave no stone unturn so a talented student can’t miss any opportunity while getting higher education due to a lack of resources.
He added that the laptop scheme was successfully run in Punjab province during 2013-18. He said that the federal government has agreed to award 100,000 laptops to merit-based deserving students through the Prime Minister Laptop Scheme, for which the cabinet proposed allocating Rs10 billion.
Sports are an integral part of education, 5 billion rupees have been earmarked in the budget for the development of school, college, and professional sports.
Empowering Women
In the budget, 5 billion rupees have been allocated for the empowerment of women, tax rate exemption will be given for women entrepreneurs.
