Public education: Shahbaz launches school enrolment drive

‘If we can build metro bus service in 11 months, we can also meet enrolment target’.

LAHORE:

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Wednesday 100 per cent school enrolment would be ensured across the province by May 31, 2016.

He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of Students Enrolment Campaign 2014. Earlier, he inaugurated the campaign by signing admission forms of several students.

He said the enrolment campaign was a huge challenge and collective efforts were needed for its success. But, he also said a government that could construct the metro bus in 11 months could also meet the enrolment target.



He said that there was a need to impose an ‘educational emergency.’

He said elected representatives would be encouraged to actively participate in the enrolment campaign. He said efforts would also be devoted to reducing the drop-out rates.

Minister for Education Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan and McKinsey country head Salman Ahmed were also present.

The chief minister said education was the only way to eliminate poverty and unemployment.

He said the education sector had been “badly neglected” in the past.

He said a lot of hard work was needed to make up for the lost time. The chief minister said there was no dearth of resources in Pakistan.

He said Pakistan was lagging behind in the field of education. He said the goals of national development and progress could not be achieved without bringing a revolution in the education sector.

He said that 65 per cent of the country’s people lived in rural areas.

The chief minister said rural populations should be equipped with the same education as the urban citizens.

Sharif said billions of rupees were being spent on provision of missing facilities in schools.  He said the process of providing missing facilities in primary schools for girls in the province and in primary schools of south Punjab would be completed this year.

He said that a “realistic policy” had been adopted for ensuring availability of teachers at schools in accordance with the number of students.

He said teachers deserved respect for devoting their lives to the noble cause of education.

He urged them to teach in schools of rural areas.

The chief minister said every citizen had a right to quality education.

He said setting up the Daanish School system, the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund and encouraging talented students through laptops had been important projects for the government in its efforts to promote education.

Minister for Education Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan said students of Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and other provinces were also benefiting from educational programmes of the Punjab government.

He said school councils would be reactivated.

Schools Secretary Abdul Jabbar Shaheen highlighted school education roadmap, enrolment campaign and the process of recruitment of teachers.

He said the campaign aimed to enrol 4 million students.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2014.