Upgrading educational status: 'Punjab government taking revolutionary measures'

Punjab Chief Minister, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that today only those nations have emerged successful and became strong economies which spent their resources on education and equipped young generation with modern scientific knowledge. Punjab government, as well, has made promotion of quality education it's first and foremost priority and for this, revolutionary measures are being taken.
He was talking to the elected representatives hailing from various districts of the province, here on Tuesday. The elected representatives apprised the chief minister about the development schemes and the problems being faced by the people in their respective areas.
Speaking on this occasion, Shahbaz told the elected representatives that in order to provide quality education to the most poor students of the backward areas, Daanish Schools are being set up while as many as 73 schools are being given the status of 'centres of excellence'.
He said that with the establishment of the schools, children of poor parents would get standard educational facilities on one hand, while on the other, it would help eliminate poverty, unemployment and extremism in these areas. He expressed satisfaction that the students are getting apprised of changing world trends and modern knowledge through IT labs set up in over 4,000 schools of the province at a cost of five billion rupees.
The CM said that in order to help promising and talented students facing financial difficulties, Punjab Educational Endowment Fund was established for the first time in the history of the country. He added that making use of six billion rupees of this fund, scholarships are being given not only to the promising students of Punjab, but also to those of other provinces as well as Azad Kashmir.
Apart from this, poor but talented students are also being given scholarships for education in the renowned educational institutions like LUMS, FAST and NUST, he maintained. He further said that in addition to awarding these cash prizes and facilitating them to visit renowned educational institutions, teachers are also being fully encouraged over their meritorious performance.
Shahbaz informed the representatives that Punjab government is also paying special attention to the promotion of vocational education in the province and technical education in as many as 1,080 high schools has been started, bringing about improvement in the existing vocational educational institutions. Moreover, science labs in over 1,000 schools are also being upgraded at a cost of over one billion rupees. He hoped that these measures of the government would certainly help increase the literacy rate and exercise wholesome effect towards the betterment of the education sector.
The CM said that apart from education, attention has also been focused on provision of quality health facilities to the masses while mobile health units have been imported to provide modern facilities on the threshold of the dwellers of far-flung areas.
He expressed satisfaction that these mobile health units have already started providing health cover to the masses of the flood-hit areas. Assembly members, on the occasion, paid glowing tributes to the chief minister over the measures taken by the government for spread of quality education, development of the education sector and the provision of health facilities to the masses.
They were of the view that the measures taken would yield far-reaching results in the health and education sector. Among others who called on the chief minister included Rana Ishaq Khan, Malik Jalal-ud-Din, Allah Rakha, Haji Sheikh Yaqoob and Colonel Shuja Khanzada (Retd).