Education minister to teach weekly at schools

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has directed Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat to teach a class at a school every week.

Chairing a meeting, the chief minister ordered a review of the digital mechanism for registration of private schools and sought proposals for the registration of tuition centres across the province.

She also directed relevant officials to devise a mechanism for the digital mapping of tuition centres.

The chief minister was informed that a target of enrolling 4.3 million students in government schools had been achieved within two years and four months.

She declared digital payment of salaries to teachers working under the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) mandatory. Under the initiative, bank accounts will be opened for 138,000 PEF teachers.

The participants were briefed on the Punjab School Reforms Programme (PSRP) and the chief minister sought a comprehensive plan for innovative revenue generation for the sector.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz placed all line departments on high alert in view of the onset of monsoon and directed commissioners, deputy commissioners and field officers across the province to remain fully prepared for any emergency.

She directed authorities to ensure the immediate drainage of rainwater.

The chief minister ordered Rescue 1122, Water and Sanitation Agency and other emergency services to keep their personnel and machinery on standby.

She ordered continuous monitoring of stormwater drains and streams, directing officials to ensure that rainwater did not remain stagnant in urban areas.

She also ordered that all manholes in urban and rural areas must remain properly covered.

The chief minister also ordered that adequate safety arrangements be made at construction sites along with monitoring of vulnerable buildings.

She also instructed authorities to make arrangements to ensure the smooth flow of traffic on main roads.

In a statement, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed grief over the death of renowned cartoonist Shaukat Mahmood Maxim.