Higher education: CM allocates Rs21 billion for Knowledge Park

Seeks timely completion of planning work


Our Correspondent September 19, 2015
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif presiding over a meeting. PHOTO: NNI

LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday announced to allocate Rs21 billion for the establishment of a Knowledge Park in the city.

He was presiding over a meeting to review progress on the project. He said Rs21 billion would be released over a three year period.

Shahbaz said a plan had been evolved for completion of work on the project. He directed the authorities concerned to ensure timely completion of planning and designing work so that construction could begin on schedule. Shahbaz said merit would be the only criterion for admission to universities set up at the Knowledge Park. He said the project would help promote quality of education in sciences, information technology and other modern branches of knowledge.

Shahbaz said he believed it was impossible to attain social and economic development without promotion of education. He said higher allocation of resources to promotion of education was a feature common to developed countries of the world.

Earlier, the meeting discussed various proposals regarding the project. Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmed, the chairmen of the Planning and Development Board and the Punjab Textbook Board and vice chancellors of public universities were present on the occasion.

Separately, Shahbaz and Department for International Development (DFID) representative Ben French agreed to expand the scope of various social sector programmes underway in the province with DFID assistance.

Shahbaz said programmes in education, health and skill development sectors were yielding positive results. He said there had been considerable improvement in these sectors over the past few years. Finance Minister Ayesha Ghaus Pasha was also present on the occasion.

‘Agricultural package will be implemented successfully’

Shahbaz said the agriculture package announced by the federal government would prove beneficial for development of agriculture and welfare of farmers.

He was speaking at a meeting with Federal Minister for National Food Security Sikandar Bosin. He dismissed criticism over the package and said that he was certain the federal government would successfully implement it. He urged the departments concerned to finalise their preparations and ensure that there were no loopholes in their plans for implementation of the package. Shahbaz said the government was committed to protecting the interests of farmers. He said a major portion of the Rs341 billion package would be spent to address the problems of small farmers. The meeting also discussed issues in implementation of the package.

Provincial Minister for Agriculture Farrukh Javed was also present.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20th, 2015.

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