Education for all: Govt attaches great importance to health, education, says Rehman

Minister says Punjab Schools Reforms Roadmap yielding positive results

LAHORE: Excise and Taxation Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman said on Sunday that the government attached great importance to the health and education sectors.

He said budgetary allocations for these sectors had undergone a remarkable increase and additional funds had been released to facilitate the quick realisation of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The minister said 95 per cent of discretionary funds were being used to treat disadvantaged patients and help the destitute.

The minister said private educational institutions had been playing a pivotal role in ensuring the provision of quality education. He said the government appreciated the services of the private sector with regard to raising the literacy rate. The minister said nongovernmental organisations had been playing a crucial role in ensuring the provision of quality education to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. He said the Punjab Schools Reforms Roadmap had been yielding positive results. The minister said every child across the province would be enrolled at a school by 2018.

Rehman said revamping standards in the education sector was a priority of the government. The minister said computer labs would be established in 990 high schools, missing facilities would be provided in 7,500 schools, buildings of 4,727 schools would be constructed again, 24,500 rooms would be added to schools’ premises and 500 new schools would be opened.

He said new targets had been set under the 18-point roadmap that would be implemented in letter and spirit to ensure that the goals were realised by 2018. The minister said while the provision of education was a constitutional obligation of the government, it could not be expected to discharge this duty single-handedly. Rehman said the government required the assistance of the private sector on this account. The minister said it was encouraging to note that private schools had been offering a standardised level of education. He said the presence of quality schools bid well for the national education system.

Rehman said scholarships worth Rs12 billion were being provided to over 50,000 students by the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund (PEEF). The minister said students from private institutions had also been benefiting from PEEF grants. Rehman said the government saw private schools as key partners in the struggle to promote education nationwide. The minister said the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) had provided a Rs7.50 billion grant to private schools.

The minister said the government had been implementing a comprehensive policy for the promotion and upgrade of school education.  He said a sum of Rs8 billion had been provided for the provision of missing facilities in schools across the Punjab. The minister said Rs3.63 billion had been provided for the provision of free textbooks. Rehman said IT labs had been established at over 5,000 high schools and 515 middle schools. The minister said 3,068 primary and middle schools had been upgraded at a cost of Rs13,005 million over seven years.

Rehman said the government had abolished all seats reserved for admission on a self-finance basis in professional colleges and only gifted students were getting admitted on merit alone. The minister said gifted students were being awarded laptops while those who had topped in an education board were being sent abroad to tour renowned varsities.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2015.