‘HEC budget won’t be halved’

Islamabad : Parliamentary secretary for education and professional training Wajiha Akram on Tuesday denied 51 per cent reduction in the Higher Education Commission's budget for the next financial year and declared reports in this respect false.She was responding to a calling attention notice in the National Assembly about the reported 51 per cent cut in the HEC budget 2019-20 by the federal government.The parliamentary secretary said the government had allocated Rs65 billion for the HEC in the 2018-19 fiscal year.She said 90 per cent of the total HEC allocations had been disbursed, while the rest would be released before the end of the current fiscal.The parliamentary secretary claimed that there would be no reduction in the HEC funds in the next financial year.She said a committee had been formed to resolve the HEC funding issues.Wajiha Akram said the promotion of education was among the top priorities of the PTI government. She said the government had launched a campaign to educate out-of-school children through enrolment.The parliamentary secretary said the government was also launching a campaign to increase the literacy rate in the country.

from The News International - Islamabad http://bit.ly/2Kcpvgs