LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif said on Sunday that education was key to attain developmental goals and self-reliance, and overcome the tendency of extremism.
Talking to a delegation of PML-N here, he said that nations investing on education had made rapid progress, therefore, the Punjab government had made promotion of education its top priority and billions of rupees were being spent on the programmes to equip new generation with quality education. Provision of resources to promote education was a useful investment for bright future of the nation, he viewed.
Shahbaz Sharif said that more than 100,000 talented male and female students were getting education in prestigious educational institutions through Punjab Educational Endowment Fund. He said that the unique and unprecedented programme of provision of educational scholarships of country's history had provided opportunities of quality education to the intelligent boy and girl students.
He said that laptops worth billions of rupees had been distributed among lakhs of youth on merit. He said that mutual brotherhood and inter-provincial contacts were promoting with the participation of male and female students of all units of Pakistan in the educational programmes of the Punjab government.
The Chief Minister said that quality education was being provided to the children of backward areas through Daanish School System. He said that free quality education was being provided to talented children of poorest families in Daanish schools. He said that setting up of Daanish schools in backward areas was a glorious example of spending resources on poor people. He said the Punjab government had provided education by setting up modern Daanish schools in less developed areas.
Shahbaz Sharif said those criticizing Daanish schools did not want that the children of poor families should get quality education. He said that like children of elite, children of poor families had equal right over quality education.
He said that like other sectors, former rulers of Punjab during dictatorial era, committed loot and plunder in the name of education. He said that the education sector was ruined through spreading darkness of ignorance in the name of Parha Likha Punjab, nepotism and corruption was promoted and merit was violated. He said that besides looting national resources, loans of billions of rupees were also got written off on political basis during dictatorial era.
The Chief Minister said the Punjab Government had converted graveyards of corruption of former rulers into minarets of development whereas former rulers, instead of paying attention to the completion of development projects, filled their own pockets.
He said that the nation had conducted strict accountability of those who looted the hard earned money of the poor nation in the name of development projects in general elections of 2013 and local bodies' elections through its power of vote.
Shahbaz Sharif said that a handful opponents of public welfare projects were enemy of development of Pakistan. He vowed that the projects of development and prosperity of the people would continue. He said the Punjab government was marching forward for promotion of education under "Parho Punjab, Barho Punjab" and the target of provision of quality education and enrolment of every child of Punjab in school by 2018 had to be achieved at all costs.
The Chief Minister said that quality education was the right of every child of the province and he would not rest content till provision of this right. He said that achievement of targets fixed under "Parho Punjab, Barho Punjab" would bring a revolution in education sector.
Shahbaz Sharif said that the work of construction and rehabilitation of dilapidated buildings of schools was being carried out on priority basis. He said the Punjab government had invested billions of rupees in education sector during last eight years and funds would also be provided in future in this regard.
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