School Reforms Roadmap launched

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

LAHORE, April 7: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday rolled out the School Reforms Roadmap with an objective to ensure quality education to all and cent per cent enrolment of all school going age children by Oct 31.

Speaking at the School Reforms Roadmap launch ceremony at Chief Minister’s Secretariat on Thursday, Sharif said cent per cent enrolment and retention of children in schools seemed to be a tall claim and a big challenge, but not an impossible target. He laid stress on a collective effort for the achievement of the target.

The chief minister said “where there is a will, there is a way” and vowed that every child in Punjab would go to school. Speaking to district coordination officers, he said those ensuring cent per cent enrolment and retention of students would be appreciated and low performer would be replaced.

Sharif said British Prime Minister David Cameron had announced that DFID would provide funding for education in Pakistan. He said British government’s cooperation would leave a positive impact on the education sector and help meet educational needs.

British educationist Sir Michael Barber stressed the need that Daanish School type educational environment should be provided in schools across the province. Referring to the School Reforms Roadmap, he said the Punjab government had identified the problems, and features of the roadmap were good to achieve the desired targets. “If school reforms are implemented in letter and spirit and all concerned continued to work together, the reforms will start bearing fruits in just two years,” Sir Barber said. He said Pakistans fate would change if the government invested in its younger generation.

Punjab School Education Department Secretary Aslam Kamboh said the roadmap was not a first step, but take-off stage of a long struggle. He said this roadmap had political will, vision and strategy. In the last three years, he said, the school education department worked hard because it got enabling environment.

During the last three years, he said, the Punjab government regularised the services of some 109,000 teachers, recruited 40,000 new teachers and improved teachers’ service structure. Now, he said, every high school had a computer lab, all students studying in public schools and partner schools were being provided textbooks free of cost, girls were being given stipend, top position holders were being given cash prizes and provided an opportunity to study abroad. He said talented students belonging to poor segment of the society were being given scholarships through the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund.

Mr Kamboh said every child in Punjab would be enrolled in schools by October 31 this year and added that this was one of the Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015.

Also, the chief minister inaugurated the school enrolment campaign by getting five-year old Mahnoor and Muhammad Ijaz admitted to schools. It was, however, learnt that the Government Junior Model School No. 2, Mustafa Abad, where Mahnoor was admitted was encroached upon by a councillor. The chief minister signed the admission forms of both students at the ceremony organised on a corner of the stage.

Punjab Information Technology Board Chairman Javed Ghani organised launch of an email service for all high school and Daanish School students that they would be able to use for their lesson plans.

Punjab Education Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman and PEEF Vice-Chairman Amjad Saqib also spoke.

Talking to the electronic media later, the chief minister said the Punjab government would form a commission to look into the reasons behind doctors’ strike and the deaths reported during the strike.