ISLAMABAD, March 23: President Gen Pervez Musharraf declared on Saturday that there would be a continuity of policies beyond October, and called upon the nation to give him time to greatly change socio-economic conditions in the country.

“The nation has to be patient and should give me maximum support to bring about all the required changes,” he said while inaugurating the first Virtual University here.

The president asked the nation to trust him to deliver in order to address the core issues. “We did not do anything during the last 50 years... and things have degenerated particularly during the last 12 years.”

“I do not want to bluff the nation and would very honestly say that the change will not come quickly, it will take time and that is why I ask the nation to give me all its support to restructure the every aspect of society,” Gen Musharraf said.

However, the president did not openly talk about a referendum that would ensure his stay in power for five years. “When he (Gen Musharraf) is saying that the nation should trust him and give him time to do anything, it is pretty clear that he is telling you that he plans to hold a referendum,” a government official attending the ceremony commented.

The president told the gathering that education was one of the major priorities of his government for which he was also getting considerable support from bilateral donors and international agencies.

“We have started having debt swap for education and lot of funds in this behalf are coming into the country,” he added.

The objective, he said, is to increase the literacy rate and then gradually improve primary and higher education with the help of foreign universities and institutions.

Gen Musharraf regretted that there had not been real emphasis on science and technology in the Muslim world. The issue, he pointed out, had been raised by him during the recently concluded COMSTECH ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conference in Islamabad. “We the members of the OIC need to make available substantial resources to compete with the western world in the fields of science and technology and the information technology”.

He said there had been formidable increase in Pakistan’s science and technology budget from Rs120 million to Rs6 billion, which, he added, was a proof of his government’s commitment to spend more and more on higher education.

The president told the participants that a ‘Higher Education Commission’ was being set up by winding up the University Grant Commission which had failed to perform well to promote higher education. The new commission, he said, would be headed by Science and Technology Minister Attaur Rehman.

He said since there was an adequate infrastructure available in the country, the setting up of a Virtual University would go a long way in producing quality students. This infrastructure in some respects, he claimed, was better than many countries of the region, including India. “I hope that the Virtual University will provide quality education as part of the distance learning through television and internet.”

The internet facility, he pointed out, had been extended from 25 cities to 500 cities and towns in the country.

The president expressed the hope that the Virtual University would also teach other subjects, including the English language. “Urdu language should continue to be our national language but we cannot afford to be negligent about the importance of English language.”

Gen Musharraf revealed that a separate television channel was being set up for imparting 24 hours education to people. “This new channel will enhance public/private partnership in the field of education,” he added.