LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said education is the only way to cope with the challenges confronting the country.
“The Punjab government has devised a solid strategy to better education and the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund (PEEF) has been set up to meet the needs of unprivileged but talented students,” the CM said while talking to his party lawmakers from various districts.
He added: “Under the Funds educational scholarships of billions of rupees have been distributed among 150,000 students who are studying in prestigious local and international educational institutions.” He said that volume of the fund would increase to Rs20 billion during the current year while the number of students getting scholarships from the income of the fund will increase to 200,000.
The CM said: “All-out resources have been made available for imparting education to children, as provision of funds for this purpose is a useful investment. The Punjab government has laid the foundation of a revolution in education by taking concrete steps for the promotion of education.”
He went on to say: “Revolutionary measures adopted for the promotion of quality education are bearing fruit. A comprehensive programme of reforms in education is being implemented. The target of speedy development and strong economy can be achieved only through promotion of education.”
The chief minister said that Punjab Educational Endowment Fund, voucher scheme of Punjab Education Foundation, Daanish Schools, distribution of cash prizes among position-holder students and their study tours abroad, provision of laptops on merit and other revolutionary measures are playing an important role in promotion of education.
He said children of AJK, GB and other provinces of the country have also been included in the educational programmes of Punjab which is promoting national unity and solidarity. Shehbaz said that Punjab government has evolved a project to set up Knowledge Park over a vast piece of land in Lahore.
He said that Knowledge Park is the first and a unique project in the history of the country.
He said that campuses of prominent local and foreign educational institutions will also be established in the Knowledge Park which will promote quality education. He said that Knowledge Park to be set up in Lahore will be the first educational center of international standard in the region.