Stay connected: Free internet to be provided at public parks, Mashhood says

Minister says IT labs at schools will also serve as e-libraries.

LAHORE: The government has decided to provide free internet at public parks by setting up Wi-fi hotspots there, Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmad said on Tuesday.

He was speaking at an event, titled Ilm Bazaar, organised by ILM Ideas and the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF).

He said that the government, in collaboration with the Department for International Development (DFID), had introduced various technologies to promote learning. He said the steps had yielded good results in remote areas.



Ahmad said that the Punjab government was committed to introducing and implementing the world’s best practices in the education sector. He said that radio would be used as a source of instructions at classrooms. Satellite vans would also be sent to schools in remote, less-developed areas to facilitate learning there.

The minister said that the DFID’s Punjab Model of Innovative Education programme had been replicated in three other countries. He said four million children were enrolled in schools last year exceeding the set target of 3.4 million.

Ahmad said that IT labs at schools would work as e-libraries from 3pm to 6pm. E libraries would also be set up at colleges.

Education experts at the event favoured innovative ideas to meet various challenges faced by the education sector. They stressed the need for taking ground realities into account while working on sustainable innovative solutions. The panelists included Zehra Zaidi from the ILm Ideas, Roshaneh Zafar from the Kashf Foundation, Ahsan Jamil from the Aman Foundation, Anfal Saqib from the DFID and Khurram Zafar from the LUMS Centre for Entrepreneurship.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th, 2015.