Development plan: PEF to spend Rs3b on facilities in schools

1,000 schools will get science equipment in first phase of scheme.

LAHORE:

Punjab government will spend Rs3 billion to provide missing facilities in primary and middle schools during the current fiscal year. This was announced by Raja Muhammad Anwar, the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) chairman. Anwar was presiding over a meeting of a 10-member delegation of the PEF partner schools at his office on Friday.

Anwar said the government believed that education was the basic right of all children. He said that various interventions like capacity building of teachers, continued assessment of learning achievements through examination, provision of free text-books and computer and science laboratories had been introduced at the PEF partner schools.

He said that primary to elementary schools will be upgraded to ensure provision of various missing facilities including clean drinking water, sanitation, boundary walls, electricity, furniture and toilet blocks. He said work on improving existing facilities and adding those missing would begin very soon.

In order to improve existing science laboratories in secondary schools and strengthen practical education, the chairman said, a development scheme has been proposed.

He said 1,000 higher secondary schools with highest enrolment will be provided quality science equipment and standardised practical books in the first phase.



Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th, 2011.