LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the aim of progress and prosperity of the country can be achieved only by equipping the youth with modern knowledge.
He said: “The Punjab government is distributing 125,000 laptops among talented students, who will play their role in the progress and development of the country by acquiring latest knowledge of science and technology.”
He was addressing the laptops-distribution-ceremony for the talented students at University of Gujrat. MNAs Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Khurram Dastgir, Malik Jamil Awan, Chief Minister’s Education Advisor Zaeem Hussain Qadri, MPA Haji Imran Zafar, Mian Tariq Mehmood were also present at the occasion. 
The Chief Minister said that the PML-N wanted to bring an educational revolution in the province which would result in availability of academic facilities of the standard of Aitchison College to the poor children.
While congratulating around 4,000 students of Gujrat who have received laptops, the Chief Minister said: “90 percent of these students belong to poor families and their parents deserve the credit for they have provided their children education despite the financial constraints.”
He said that laptops were being distributed among students having 65 to 70 percent marks in examinations purely on merit and it is through strict implementation of this policy that the progress of the country can be ensured and it could be transformed into an Islamic welfare state in accordance with the vision of Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal.
He said that laptops would be given to three lac brilliant students in the next fiscal year.
The Chief Minister said that Arfa Karim brought a good name to the country by achieving the honour of being IT Professional at very young age and he wanted to see an Arfa Karim in every family of the province.
He said that uplift of education sector and promotion of quality education was the top priority of his government and solid measures were being taken for this purpose. He said that scholarships were being given from Punjab Educational Endowment Fund to the students facing financial problems.
The chief minister said that inefficient and corrupt rulers have pushed the country to the verge of disaster and the sooner the nation got rid of the corrupt gang the better it would be for the country.
He said that corruption and loot is rampant in the country and it has tarnished the image of Pakistan abroad. He said that PML-N under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif will strive for a new Pakistan by eliminating corruption, nepotism and loot.
He said that nuclear power and begging bowl cannot go together and the time has come to rely on indigenous resources.
Later, the chief minister and other political personalities distributed laptops among brilliant students.