ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: President Mamnoon Hussain on Thursday said there was a need to focus on the field of fashion and designing in order to further enhance Pakistan’s exports.
Chairing the 5th meeting of Senate of Pakistan Institute Fashion Designing (PIFD) at Aiwan-e-Sadr, he said enhanced focus on this particular sector would increase job opportunities and create a pool of skilled manpower which will ultimately bolster the national economy.
Minister for Commerce and Pro-Chancellor PIFD Engineer Khurram Dastgir, Senator Robina Khalid, Member National Assembly Shereen Arshad Khan and Federal Secretary Ministry of Commerce were also present during the meeting.
The meeting granted approval to the annual budget 2016-17 of PIFD and also approved the annual report of the institution.
The Senate meeting discussed academic, administrative, financial and security matters, related to PIFD and took decisions thereon.
The President said that the education of fashion and design was a new concept in the country which required more attention so that national output was up to the international standard and there was improvement in local products.
He said there was a need to maintain the international standard in fashion and designing for export purposes so that new avenues could be explored in this field but the students should uphold their cultural and religious values.
He emphasized that in order to enhance the standard of education and for national progress it was imperative that teachers were adequately paid and their remuneration was commensurate to their needs.
The President directed to formulate recommendations for increasing the salaries of teachers and other staff members of PIFD.
He said youth have become despondent due to terrorism and extremism and in order to turn their despondency into hope, there was a need to work with dedication.
The President stated that for this reason and as part of a comprehensive programme, he regularly interacted with the youth by visiting their educational institutions.