Punjab CM seeks proposal on province-wide school vans

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has announced plans to launch a van service for government schools and an 'on-wheel Montessori schools' project across the province.

Presiding over a meeting of the school education department on Wednesday, the chief minister directed the officials concerned to prepare a comprehensive plan for the province's first regular school transport service aimed at facilitating access to education for children in remote areas.

It was decided that school and teacher of the month awards would be introduced, based on discipline, classroom performance, laboratory standards and the overall quality of education.

Giving a briefing on departmental initiatives, Punjab School Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat said a 99 per cent increase in student enrolment and 114% in teaching staff had been achieved through the school outsourcing model. He said over 60,000 employment opportunities had been created for educated youth as part of the initiative.

The minister said Punjab now holds the record for the largest public-private partnership in education globally, with 1.3 million additional students enrolled through outsourcing within 16 months.

Outsourcing of another 10,500 schools is planned in the next year. The first phase saw 40,000 applications for 5,700 government schools. He said significant infrastructure improvements had been made in outsourced schools, including the construction of 413 classrooms, renovation of over 5,000 and repair of 2,887 roofs.

Over 254,000 square metres of boundary walls have been constructed and more than 50 schools converted to solar energy. Facilities such as 1,643 water tanks and 5,830 coolers, and 9,303 new blackboards have also been provided.

The participants of the meeting were informed that in select districts, including Faisalabad, children in outsourced schools were receiving mid-day meals under a self-help model. Additionally, 70,977 furniture sets have been delivered to improve the classrooms.

CM Maryam Nawaz also launched the Punjab Education Endowment Fund (PEEF) Tech Schools as a pilot project and issued directives that similar institutions be set up in rural areas. Am English Conversation Programme, aligned with IELTS Standard-4, is under way to benefit 300,000 students within six months. So far, 10,000 classrooms for early childhood education have been prepared across Punjab.

The chief minister also ordered expansion of the Nawaz Sharif Centre of Excellence, increasing its intake from 240 to 1,500 students.

The School Meal Programme is set to begin in Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Lodhran, Bhakkar, Mianwali and Bahawalnagar, with proposals to include energy bars, milk, biscuits and other nutritious items under review.

The meeting approved a target to construct additional classrooms by the end of the year and complete over 400 toilet blocks in girls' schools. Other initiatives include ongoing Google training for students and teachers, plans to build 6,000 STEM and science labs, and 'rationalisation' of school staffing.

CM Maryam Nawaz emphasised the need for quality teacher training and issued instructions that school entrances across Punjab be standardised.

She said, "We aim to make our government schools better than even the best private institutions in Punjab."