Peshawar – Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi on Wednesday said investing in the skills and abilities of young people was an investment in Pakistan’s brighter future, stressing that equipping children with modern education and technical skills was the need of the time.
Addressing a certificate and toolkit distribution ceremony at the Governor House for youths who completed a mobile phone repairing course, the Governor said skilled youth could create dignified employment opportunities for themselves and contribute to the economic stability of their families.
The training programme was organised by the Society for Skill, Training and Development (SSTD) in collaboration with Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation Pakistan.
Senior Director SSTD Muhammad Haseeb Khan, Country Director of Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation Pakistan Dr Arjumand Nizami, trainees and their parents attended the ceremony.
The Governor said the programme represented an effective and sustainable investment in the future of children, adding that Pakistan’s youth had been affected by various national challenges and therefore deserved special attention in education and skills development. He appreciated the role of the private sector in promoting technical education and urged both public and private organisations to expand such skill development programmes to all districts of the province.
Kundi assured that the Governor House would continue extending all possible support for initiatives aimed at promoting vocational education and appreciated the services of Helvetas and SSTD in empowering young people through technical training.
Talking to media persons later, the Governor criticised the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government over the recently approved perks-related bill, asking the party claiming transparency and justice to explain how the legislation was passed by the provincial assembly. He said the provincial government had secured benefits for itself but failed to provide relief to the people, while expressing concern over attempts to impose restrictions on the media, terming them contrary to democratic values.
The Governor said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was facing serious security challenges and needed effective governance and public service instead of additional privileges. He alleged that the provincial government had failed to protect the lives and property of citizens and that the health, education and other essential sectors were in poor condition. Kundi also said that under the Constitution, every bill passed by the provincial assembly was sent to the Governor for consideration. He said he had raised constitutional objections to several provincial bills, but if a bill was reconsidered by the assembly and resent, it automatically became law after the expiry of the constitutional period.
