Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has directed that IT training in the country’s universities be aligned with the requirements of the international market.

He issued these directives while chairing a meeting on higher education in the IT sector in Islamabad today.

The Prime Minister noted that IT education in most universities is not in line with modern industry requirements. He directed that a third-party audit be conducted of IT education and training programs at universities across Pakistan.

He also instructed the relevant authorities to present a roadmap for equipping young people with high-quality IT training in line with contemporary demands and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, data science and robotics.

The meeting was briefed on the results of a recent test conducted by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to assess the capabilities of IT graduates from Pakistani universities.

The results showed that only 0.4 percent of students scored above 80 percent, while 61 percent secured less than 50 percent marks.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the poor performance, the Prime Minister said the results fell far short of the desired standards.

The meeting was informed that, in light of the findings, work has already begun on reforms aimed at improving higher education in the IT sector at universities across the country.