Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination in its meeting has called for a livestock university in areas of Balochistan which are rich in livestock so that the knowledge can be attained and applied where it is needed.
The meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Senator Sardar Yaqoob Khan Nasir here at the Parliament House on Thursday. The Committee was given briefings by Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council (PVMC), Inter-Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) and National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA). The Committee was told that PVMC is a parallel body like Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and does the same tasks for veterinary doctors as PMDC does for medical doctors and dentists. The Committee was told that currently there are 2,667 veterinary doctors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 916 in Balochistan. PVMC is mainly responsible for issuing licenses for practice of doctors and for accreditation of institutions.
The Committee was given a comprehensive briefing on the role and working of IBCC. It was told that the IBCC in coordination with Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in the process of entering an agreement as a result of which IBCC certification will be enough for students abroad and no further verification will be needed in 115 countries. The Committee was given details of the membership of the board of IBCC and was told that the boards of Islamabad, Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir are represented as one group board in the IBCC and the other three boards have their individual representation due to large number of education boards.
The Committee was told that NAPA has an annual budget of 9 crores, 90 lacs and has so far produced around 200 people in different categories of performing arts. It was told that NAPA not only produces artists through extensive teaching and practicing exercised but also works on soft engagement of artists and communities. The Committee strongly recommended regional offices of NAPA in all provinces because only one office in Karachi is not enough to properly engage all traditional and folk cultural traditions of the country.
Published in Daily Times, November 2nd 2018.
