Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that Daanish Schools will not only provide quality education to the poorest students of backward areas but will also enhance their respect. He said that due to establishment of these schools, such quality educational facilities would be available to the poorest students of the backward areas, which they had never imagined.
He said that setting up of such prestigious institutions will remove the deprivations of the students of less developed areas and after getting higher education, they will play their role for the development and progress of the country. He said that after Rahimyar Khan, Daanish Schools will be inaugurated in Hasilpur and Chishtian next month, whereas projects of four more Daanish Schools will be completed in DG Khan, Attock, Mianwali and Rajanpur this year.
He was presiding over a meeting with regard to Daanish Schools here Saturday. Member National Assembly Saira Afzal Tarar, MPA Shahzadi Umerzadi Tiwana, Ms Shaista Parvez Malik, Managing Director Daanish Schools System Yousaf Kamal, Dr Zafar Qureshi, Ibrahim Qureshi, Secretary Finance and concerned officers attended the meeting.
Addressing the meeting Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif said that the country cannot be put on the road to progress without eliminating ignorance and illiteracy, and keeping in view the importance of education sector, Punjab government has made it its top priority. He said that revolutionary steps have been taken for the promotion of quality education and improvement of education sector.
He said that setting up of Daanish Schools would not only usher in a new era of development and prosperity in the backward areas but will also help eliminate extremism. He said by establishing these centers of knowledge in backward areas, we have proved that not only elite but the poor and the common man has also equal right on the resources of the county.
Setting up of these schools will reduce the gulf between rich and poor, he added. He said that in the first phase, projects of Daanish Schools have been completed in R.Y. Khan, Hasilpur and Chistian whereas four more Daanish Schools will be set up in backward areas this year. He said that these educational institutions will promote education in every nook and corner of the province, which will polish the mental abilities of the students of backward areas.
He said that all appointments and admissions of students in Daanish Schools have been made on merit. He said that board of governors of these schools should be made powerful in every respect and a comprehensive system should also be evolved for financial resources and monitoring of these schools. The Chief Minister directed to constitute a committee which will submit its recommendations within ten days with regard to running all affairs of Daanish Schools smoothly.
He said that the vast land adjacent to Daanish Schools can be utilised for livestock, dairy development, agriculture and commercial purposes for making it a permanent source of financial resources for these schools and the committee should also keep this aspect in view.
He appreciated the efforts of MD Daanish Schools System Yousaf Kamal, Dr Zafar Qureshi, Ibrahim Qureshi, Deputy Secretary Shahid Iqbal and the entire team for making the project of Daanish Schools successful. While lauding producer Shirin Pasha for producing best documentary of Daanish Schools, he said that she has produced a documentary complete in all respect for Daanish Schools.