PESHAWAR: An incident involving Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Minister for Higher Education Meena Khan Afridi during a student presentation on artificial intelligence has sparked debate on social media and drawn criticism from political opponents.
According to reports, the minister was attending an event in Charsadda where a student was giving a briefing on artificial intelligence (AI). During the presentation, Meena Khan Afridi reportedly remarked that he was having difficulty understanding the briefing.
A woman accompanying the minister then attempted to explain the presentation in Pashto. The student later repeated the briefing in Pashto in an effort to make the subject matter easier to understand.
Video clips of the interaction circulated on social media, prompting criticism from some quarters, who questioned whether the minister possessed sufficient understanding of issues related to the higher education sector.
Opponents of the provincial government used the incident to challenge the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s claims of promoting merit in public appointments, arguing that senior officials should have a firm grasp of emerging technologies and educational developments.
However, supporters of the minister defended him, saying that artificial intelligence is a highly technical subject and that seeking clarification during a presentation should not be construed as a lack of competence.
The incident has reignited discussion over merit, qualifications and leadership standards in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s education sector with social media users expressing differing views on the matter.
