Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that Pakistan People's Party would sit in opposition in Punjab, but would not resort to horse trading. Talking to media on the occasion of 9th Founders Day of Chand Bagh School in Muridke, near Lahore, he said that options never end in politics and now PPP, too, is free to make its choices. He said that though Nawaz Sharif parted ways in Punjab, he has no grudge against him.
On this occasion the PM announced Rs 40 million as a first instalment for the endowment fund of the school. He said that the government is committed to counter the issues of economic crisis, terrorism and extremism. He added that PML (N) had parted ways from federal cabinet but PPP-led government "is surviving without them".
The Prime Minister said that PML-N had left the federal cabinet in the beginning of the coalition but other coalition partners remained with the PPP. He said that law and order situation does not permit the provincial governments to hold local bodies elections. "How mid-term elections can be organised under such circumstances?" Gilani said. However, the PPP would register a landslide victory whenever the polls would be held, he added. He said that the PPP would take on board PML-N for solution of national issues as no single party can steer the country out of crisis. The government will keep consulting PML-N on economic issues, he added.
Gilani said that the government held 200 hours long talks with the negotiating team of PML-N, which shows the government's sincerity to implement the 10-point agenda of PML-N. PPP will continue its politics of reconciliation, he added. Earlier, the Prime Minister said that to redress the mistakes of decades, the federal government has worked out a comprehensive National Educational Policy 2009 with the concurrence of all federating units and other stakeholders.
He said that after the passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, education has become a purely provincial subject. However, the federal government would continue to give policy guidelines in this regard.
"This Educational Policy has been mapped out in accordance with the demands of modern times and numerous developments taking place around us. The Policy is suited to our people and is consistent with our unique history and culture. It has set the goals of raising the annual budgetary allocations for the sector to seven percent of the GDP and increasing literacy to 85 percent by 2015. The main thrust of the policy is to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of universal primary education by 2015. Syllabus of public sector schools would be improved in consultation with private sector schools to reduce disparity between the two sectors. The policy envisages a regime of strict uniform examination system across the country. The policy lays special focus on gender equality and bridging urban-rural divide".
The PM said that institutes like Chand Bagh School are already on the mission of adopting the spirit of the policy. Grooming the personality of individuals across socio-economic divide of the society can be the prime motive of any visionary institute.
"It is impressive to note that this institute lays emphasis on the overall grooming and character building of students. I am delighted to know that academics is not the only focus in Chand Bagh School. Being an active member of society and the part of fast changing world, I realise that the process of self-recognition and confidence achieved through exposure in various fields are gained in the early educational career which helps to groom the overall personality of the student.
"I salute the vision of the School's founder late General Ghulam Jilani Khan, which created opportunities for the deserving students of the less privileged sections to acquire quality education in the school like Chand Bagh", he said. The Prime Minister paid tribute to the teachers of the school "who work here day and night, in the true sense of the term". Teachers undoubtedly have a great role to play in preparing the youth for future responsibilities through hard work and commitment.
He also paid tributes to the services of Major (R) Shaukat Jilani Khan, President of Chand Bagh Foundation, and Members of Board of Governors also need recognition for the hard work which have been put in to materialise the vision and dream of the Court of Founders.
"I would, therefore, urge all the educational institutions both in public and private sectors to familiarise the students with our national ideology, the ideology of the Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Muhammad Iqbal and make them custodian of that ideology. In the ultimate analysis, Pakistani nationalism has the depth, dynamism and potential to defeat all the divisive lingual, ethnic, sectarian and radical forces," the PM said.
"The nations endowed with the weapon of nationalism can surmount challenges of great magnitude. Our educational institutions, therefore, have to play their full role in imbuing our youth and students with the unifying spirit of Pakistani nationalism. The forces of terrorism and extremism have cropped up in the void created by our collective negligence to take care of this important aspect," the PM concluded.