Only a small percentage of the almost 1.3 million Pakistanis in the Kingdom are qualified and it is the duty of all Pakistanis in the Kingdom to boost the level of education back home, Sarfraz Khanzada, Pakistan's Acting Ambassador, said here. In his keynote speech at a seminar titled “Green Engineering” organized by the Engineers Welfare Forum Jeddah (EWFJ) Wednesday night at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry auditorium here, Khanzada urged the engineers to help engineering institutions in Pakistan by donating books, research articles, and by arranging lectures on expertise beneficial to the nation. He said that the government was also planning a vocational institute to p roduce skilled labor rather than a non-skilled workforce which will not only benefit the workers, but will also benefit the country. He also urged parents of children studying in the Kingdom to invest in their children's higher education since statistics show that only 23 percent of boys and three percent of girls get a university education. “It is an alarming situation,” he said. Engr. Aftab Islam Agha, President Institution of Engineers Pakistan (IEP), was the chief guest at the seminar. Other guests included renowned scholar Engr. Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui; Zaigham Uddin Azam, Consul General of Pakistan; Zafar Iqbal, Minister for Coordination at the Pakistani Consulate; Mohammad Jameel, Press Consul; Jahangir Virq, Deputy Consul (Welfare); and Dr. Mohammd Umer Chappra, advisor IDB and winner of the King Faisal Award. Chief guest Aftab Islam Agha said that the country's energy crisis could be solved if the concept of green engineering is earnestly implemented. He said that IEP is ready to help the government by offering technical solutions to the energy crisis. He said IEP will celebrate an Engineering Week from May 4 which will create an awareness among people in general and engineering students in particular about viable and practical guidelines in the selection of education beneficial for the country. Engineer Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui, in his paper, presented the development of green engineering in the West, with Sweden being the leader in investing in such projects. He also mentioned the laws formed to govern such activities. He said that the energy crisis in Pakistan needs urgent attention. “We can invite investors who could install power generators and they could get returns in 3
