Investment in sector is not bearing results and requires HEC not to regulate but instead delegate revamping and upgrade of curricula to meet job market requirements to institutions with guidelines only provided by HEC who also undertakes transparent yearly performance appraisal and a standard merit based testing process for admissions that is used by Universities to select students and in turn is an indicator of a performance of university and college. Why has testing and appraisal system been stopped?
Focus of funding of GOP should be on providing “need blind access to quality education” and reverting the structure we have today of only a “12% higher education enrollment rate but with 4% students coming from international examination board constituting 87% in the HEI”.
P3P, privatization and NGO schools has been initiated and schools operated by private individuals and foundations be encouraged to establish a public school in divisions and tehsils first in the under developed rural areas by taking over from Provincial Governments or building new ones under a “USF “on lines of on Universal Service Fund in the telecommunication sector.
Although Resource Development happens extensively within GOP thru internal, external and international training but apparently does not enlighten, encourage independent thinking, fostering a culture of innovation, adaptability or risk taking.
The culture is at fault as due non recognition of achievement/performance and those who seek improvement in skills with extensive political interference which and nullifies need to develop Human Resource in bureaucracy and as a result it lacks capacity to effectively manage the complexities of modern statecraft.
Is there a way to merge PSTD, Pakistan Institute of Management and Pakistan Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management, Virtual University with NAV&TTC, Foreign Office and FBR Tax training schools with LUMS, IBA and Civil Service Academy with NDU and each of medical colleges, IT and engineering universities focus on two specific areas of research?
Furthermore, ensuring inclusion and focus to reduce fertility rate from 3.2 (2022, 6.8 1973) to 2 births per woman has to become norm
- MoS&T, MoOPH&RD measures with HEC, Engineering Development Board and NEECA involves defining implementation of a technical roadmap to build engineering standards, encouraging research, product development/innovation including entrepreneurs with risk taking ability; utilizing 1.5-2% of GDP with a 20 year planning perspective.
- MoE has to immediately ensure sector deregulation, roadmap for transmission and distribution ($60-70b investment), generation ($30-40b investment) and hybrid renewable energy by building on IGEP to develop with experts and knowledgeable persons, an integrated levelized cost of energy plan.
How to recover GIDC (Rs 445.6bn); build confidence in the sector by reducing the $3tr circular debt, reducing T&D and UFG losses to under 12 and 7% by 2030, ensuring timely/regular revision of tariff for utilities to receive full cost of energy under one slab for gas and power with single unit of measurement for better comprehension of users needs to be resolved.
The forensic audit of revenue requirements for gas companies reflects lack of confidence on the SUIs or is it an approach to delay tariff increase? Furthermore, in 3 months Petroleum Division will hire consultant to assess the magnitude of losses due to infrastructure degradation/gas theft/ inefficiency and help find remedies. Wallah! Give mandate to BOD instead and MoE should monitor results!
Next focus is to be on merit order based on Energy + Capacity Charge to understand impact of capacity payments of high capex projects by the operator understood, committed efforts to shift peak demand can reduce bill by 15-17% by closing of commercial markets earlier; instead peak hours duration has been extended to increase revenues, indirectly encourage conservation and cause demand shift
Increasing electricity sale to industry vs current of domestic (50%), industry (25%), agriculture (11%) and commercial (7%) will optimize capacity payments with reducing challenge of investment in developing infrastructure to meet demand of gas and power takes place by delivering one energy molecule to residences instead of two becoming the norm going forward but requires change to the ROA formula of SUIs immediately.
Plans to tackle impact on ensuing grid/tariff structure due to addition of 25000 MW per Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP), primarily based on Renewal Energy and a 5% peak demand growth are based on ensuring policy continuity, transparent bidding and honouring of subsequent contracts. Capacity charges impact on power tariff due to RE needs judicious review and understanding.
Strategy based on a scenario planning exercise resulting in executable plans for IP, TAPI, Energy storage, Import infrastructure, Refinery and Petrochem, Coal Gasification, NS Pipeline, CASA 1000, E&P etc) for energy security and regional play, deliverance of reasonable cost of energy and an approach to help country over come its increasing imported energy challenges needs consolidation.
Mineral sector should no longer be within domain of MoE and presentations within 30 days to PM on Weighted Average Cost Of Gas, offshore and tight gas, mineral sector and energy efficiency standards for home appliances (only?) are awaited.
- MoNFS&Research with MoE needs to embark on encouraging drip irrigation, new fertilizer policy for units to produce conventional and other types (e.g Nano (liquid), Neem Coated) from a coal gasification plant, increasing research in seeds, ways for productivity improvement including increasing cultivable land to 60% (47.6% 2020), developing post harvest infrastructure for export and packaging with provision of capital to discourage absentee landlord, encourage consolidation, facilitate deliverance of services, documentation for tax contribution to GDP increasing to 35% (22.67% 2021) by 2030 and elimination food circular debt- currently estimated at Rs 1.2bn.
- MoF&R tasked to ensuring business environment that facilitates a Tax /GDP ratio of 15% by 2027 and 20% by 2030 thereby reducing commercial debt to 11% from 22% presently, budget focus on improving social indicators from 2.1% to 4.5%, increasing bank deposits to 50% from 35% with mandate to significantly increase lending to non government sectors, encouraging competition, deregulation, productivity enhancement and ease of doing business, putting in place process initiated with Rs 75K liveable wage in FY 2024 and inflation increases thereafter; doing away with universal pay & aligning it to market based on vocation and performance; taxing of untaxed and perks; replacing unfunded defined pension and gratuity schemes of Federal/Provinces (Rs 1286bn in 2022-23, 11% of GDP by 2050) by contributory pension fund in Federal Government and 206 SOEs this decade; not to forget FBR structural changes and awaited are time bound plans of Implementation Committee for FBR Reforms.
Overall a tall task but much needed and measures taken will reflect intent and will of GOP to execute the difficult measures and correct our wayward approach.