NSU Skills Endowment Fund Could Transform Pakistani Youth’s Future
On a day when Pakistan’s territorial integrity is being tested by external threats, as noted by Lieutenant General (R) Moazzam Ejaz, HI (M), the country quietly marked another kind of heroism: one that arms young people with skills, ultimately empowering Pakistan’s economy and prosperity. Lt. Gen. Moazzam Ejaz, heading the National University of Technology and serving as Chairman of the National Technology Council, called the National Skills University Islamabad Endowment Fund a most important step in our educational history.” He’s not wrong. At a time when global economies are shifting from degree-centric to skill-driven frameworks, this fund has the potential to become Pakistan’s silent revolution. He asserted his belief that skills education is the way forward for Pakistani youth, although high tech is also needed.
Conceived under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar, the founding Vice Chancellor of NSU Islamabad, and with the guidance and support from a government donor organization, the Skills Fellows Endowment Fund is a first-of-its-kind initiative in Pakistan’s public sector higher education, providing vocational education. With humble yet symbolic seed funding of PKR 1 million, the initiative invites local and international philanthropists, alumni, industries, and global partners to shape a national asset, its underserved, underprivileged youth. This inclusive approach ensures that everyone has a role in shaping Pakistan’s future.
What makes this initiative most relevant is its laser-sharp focus: the fund will provide merit and need-based scholarships to students, particularly orphans, differently abled individuals, and youth unable to afford training, for short-term skills-based programs all under six months in duration. The scholarships will be backed by Shariah-compliant investments, ensuring sustainability and ethical management. This commitment to ethical and sustainable practices ensures that the initiative is not just a short-term solution, but a long-term investment in Pakistan’s future.
The Guest of Honor, Dr. Kamran Jahangir, Chairman of the National Book Foundation, rightfully contextualized the fund’s importance: “We gather to celebrate the power of education and innovation. His endorsement reflects a growing consensus that Pakistan’s future cannot be built on degrees alon;, it must be constructed with skills, character, and purpose. According to him, this initiative isn’t just about economic uplift. It’s about restoring dignity through competence. It’s about ensuring that a young woman from a distant region of the country, a differently abled youth, or an orphan can dream beyond survival. It’s about embedding resilience into the national identity.
The NSU Skills Fellows Endowment Fund is grounded in institutional accountability and a culture of giving, as seen in the students and faculty who have begun to contribute.
In today’s global economy, where artificial intelligence threatens to disrupt conventional job markets, human skills, creative, technical, vocational remain irreplaceable. Pakistan must learn to value a skilled electrician as much as a civil servant, and a trained welder as much as a computer scientist. The skills revolution must be both economic and cultural. NSU Skills Endowment is for futuristic training and a world full of technological gadgets.
According to the Founding Vice Chancellor, the road ahead for the endowment fund will not be easy. It will require consistent fundraising, transparent governance, and measurable impact. But if done right, it can serve as a national engine for equity, turning economic disadvantage into a land of prosperity.
