‘Education card’ modalities ordered

244,927 college students will benefit from the financial assistance initiative

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has ordered modalities for launching Insaf Education Card which is supposed to benefit 244,927 students enrolled in government colleges across the province.

The scheme includes waiver of the entire fee and will cost approximately Rs1 billion to the provincial exchequer.

While chairing a meeting on the Insaf Taleem Card, the chief minister stated that investment in human capital is of paramount importance and is one of the pivotal agendas of the incumbent government.

He added that sincere steps have been taken in this regard to ensure promotion of higher education in the province.

The chief minister reiterated that the provincial government had taken steps for the promotion of quality education in the province and that the effort had started yielding positive results.

He clarified that public trust in government educational institutions has been restored and a number of steps have been taken to ensure that educational institutions in the province are made fully functional.

In this regard, 76 colleges have been upgraded whereas 37 new colleges have been established in the province in order to ensure students have uniform access to educational opportunities.

The establishment of Pak-Austria Fachhochschule Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology is another milestone achieved by the provincial government towards promotion of education in the sector of applied sciences as per contemporary needs.

Similarly, the establishment of university campuses in various districts of the province has also ensured uniform access to higher education.

During the ongoing fiscal year, Rs8 billion have been allocated for various development projects in the higher education sector which include renovation and rehabilitation works in colleges, establishment of new colleges, strengthening of universities, promotion of commerce and management education, provision of scholarships and stipends, establishment of new universities and strengthening of public libraries etc.

These schemes have been included keeping in view the differential needs and once completed, it will ensure that majority of the issues faced by parents and students are addressed, said CM Khan.

He directed the education department to focus on promoting quality education which can enable our future generation to compete not only nationally but also internationally.

Education for the sake of degrees is not only useless but is also a waste of precious resources, the chief minister maintained.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Finance Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Minister for Higher Education Kamran Bangash, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, secretary higher education, secretary information and other officials.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2022.