Step ahead: Minister breaks ground for Home Economics College

Mashhood says improving access to education for women a priority of the govt.

FAISALABAD:

Minister for Education Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan said on Friday that the Punjab government was focusing on improving women’s access to education.

He said the government was working on a number of higher education programmes.

He was addressing groundbreaking ceremony of Home Economics College at old Bakkar Mandi near Afghanabad Chowk.

MNA Haji Akram Ansari, MPAs Muhammad Nawaz Malik, Haji Khalid Saeed and Haji Ilyas Ansari were also present.

The minister said provision of quality education was a priority of the government.

He said teachers were being trained and public schools were being upgraded.

Ansari told newsmen that Rs135.34 million had been allocated for the Home Economics College.

He said the college was built on 30 kanals and located in the heart of the city. Later, Mashhood presided over a meeting at the Commissioner’s Office.

“Our government has recruited around 140,000 educators on merit and 40,000 more are going to be recruited through a transparent process” he said while later addressing a meeting with Faisalabad Commissioner Capt (retd) Naseem Nawaz, several lawmakers, the Jhang DCO, the director of colleges and EDOs at the commissioner’s office.

Khan said under Parho Punjab, Barho Punjab, more than 101 million children in the Punjab will be enrolled in schools by 2018. “We are looking to bring all children towards the mainstream education system,” he said.

A special campaign has been launched to ensure quality education in public schools, he said. “We have achieved significant progress in this regard so far.”

The minister urged the parliamentarians at the meeting to adopt public schools under the Parho Punjab, Barho Punjab campaign. “You must do your part in ensuring quality education, missing facilities at schools and improving enrolment rates,” he told them.

Khan said that the chief minister had linked development funds for lawmakers with the steps they had taken to improve the quality of education. He said he was hopeful this would bring about significant improvement.

“Under the Early Childhood Education Programme, the government has built recreational rooms for children in around 1,200 schools last year. We are looking to build these in 1,000 schools this year,” he said. The government has also completed a survey of dangerous schools buildings and has released funds for their maintenance and repair.

He said a complaint cell would be set up by the Education Department. “Corruption will not be tolerated and strict action will be taken against anyone found guilty of it.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2015.