Punjab to hire 25k schoolteachers

Cabinet approves recruitment requested by Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai

LAHORE:

The Punjab cabinet has approved the induction of 25,000 teachers in the school education department.

Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said while presiding over a cabinet meeting on Thursday that Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai had requested him during their recent meeting to induct the teachers in the schools.

He issued orders to complete the induction process at the earliest.

The cabinet also approved the provision of free legal aid to needy citizens through the Punjab Public Defender Service Bill 2020.

The chief minister said the provincial government would provide free legal aid to those lacking resources. Provision of justice to the common people would be ensured, he added.

The launching of the Punjab Public Defender Service will create 1,000 employment opportunities.

The Punjab cabinet approved a proposal to extend the scope of a programme for the provision of solar water pumps for farmers across the province. The CM maintained that the agriculture sector would prosper with the launching of the programme. The supply of water to the farmers will be ensure, which will help increase agricultural production.

The cabinet decided to formulate a new policy to grant ownership rights to the residents of slum areas. The CM directed the senior member of the Board of Revenue to give a final shape to the new policy as soon as possible.

The Punjab cabinet also approved he establishment of a sports endowment fund of Rs2 billion. The chief minister revealed that international coaches would be invited to Pakistan to train local players. The endowment fund will be spent for the welfare of players.

Approval was accorded to grant a special allowance to the lady health supervisors of the Punjab Integrated Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health and Nutrition Programme. The CM approved an increase in the special allowance to Rs5,000.

Approval was also granted during the meeting for a special grant to the Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (PILAC) of Rs250 million.

The CM outlined that all possible steps would be taken to promote Punjabi language and culture in the province.

Approving a review of the Punjab Government Advertisement Policy 2020, the CM said it was necessary to provide adequate quota of advertisements to the regional along with national newspapers. He said the amount of work done in the past four months had not been done in the previous 10 years. He called for a special focus on the social media.

The cabinet also granted approval to provide additional resources of Rs50 billion for the Annual Development Programme 2022-23 to increase its volume to Rs726 billion. Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi said Rs85 billion more had been spent from the development funds during the past five months as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Approval was granted to delegate the appointment authority to the Higher Education Department of principals in up to grade 19 in the government colleges.

The Punjab cabinet approved the purchase of 300 environment-friendly hybrid buses for Lahore. The CM said Rs15 billion would be spent on the buses.

Separate stops will be built and buses run for women in the city.

The Punjab cabinet also approved the setting up of a cash management fund. Investment will be made in the government securities through the fund. The investment management committee will review all matters relating to the fund and the profit from the investment will be spent on development.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2022.