Moalims

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif yesterday inaugurated Enrolment of Children in Schools Campaign 2016 under “Parho Punjab Barho Punjab Programme.”
Addressing the ceremony, the chief minister said that education is the only key to progress and prosperity and creating tolerance in the society. That is why Punjab government has taken a number of steps for the promotion of education, he added.
However, efforts would be continued for ensuring hundred percent enrolment of children in schools and the entire nation has to lend a helping hand to the government for the achievement of this great objective, he added.
He said that according to an independent survey, 92 percent enrolment targets have been achieved in Punjab however, it is a challenge to maintain it and government, authorities of education department and parents will also have to provide support for coping with this challenge so that results of the enrolment campaign could be achieved on permanent basis.
He said that Punjab government has taken revolutionary steps for the promotion of education however, results of some steps are still awaited. He said that standard of education will have to be further improved in government schools so that maximum children could be given the right of quality education.
Shehbaz Sharif said that government is taking continuous steps for providing missing facilities in schools along with ensuring attendance of teachers and students. He said that all these steps are necessary for judging the quality of education in any society.
Strenuous efforts are being made for achieving educational targets but we have to still move ahead in this field, he added. Among other steps, scholarships worth billions of rupees have been awarded to over one lakh less privileged boy and girl students through Punjab Educational Endowment Fund. However, these scholarships have been provided to the students for higher education as if investment was not made on the future of the nation, our children could not become literate.
Similarly, right of education has been provided to boy and girl students through voucher scheme of Punjab Education Foundation and lakhs of children are benefitting from this scheme.
The chief minister also stressed upon the teachers to impart to maintain standard of education at par with private schools. He said that attendance of teachers in schools should be 99 percent and besides availability of missing facilities, shortage of teachers in schools should also be removed immediately.
He said that a third party audit is also necessary for the steps being taken regarding quality education. These are challenges which will have to be coped with jointly and it is our obligation to move forward and provide quality education to the children of the nation as they deserve the same quality education as is right of children of elites, he added.
Shehbaz Sharif said that heinous trade of mortgaging of children at brick kilns has been eliminated and thousands of children are going to school while hundreds of owners have been sent behind the bars. He asked the higher authorities, ministers of concerned departments and secretaries to realize their responsibilities for ensuring quality education to the students.
He said that there is no dearth of resources for providing quality education to these children. He said that if he will not allow misuse of resources for purchasing costly vehicles. He said that he will go to last limit for providing quality education to the children of the nation.
He said that elites feel bad to talk about common man and Lahore Orange Line Metro Train is also a project of progress and prosperity of common man but a handful of elites is creating hurdles in the way of this splendid project.
Shehbaz Sharif said he wants to make it clear that the nation will remove these hurdles and will hold the elites accountable He said that if elites tried to stop the revolution of prosperity then it will ruin them. He warned elites of the time when common man will hold them accountable.
He said that education, health, socio-economic justice, provision of potable water and projects of quality facilities of transport are for common man and we will have to make such a system that elites could not create hurdles in any project. He expressed the hope that time is not far off when the country will become prosperous and Pakistan of Quaid and Iqbal in the real sense.
The chief minister formally started enrolment campaign for the year 2016 by signing admission forms of the children and gave books, bags and stationary to them.
Provincial Ministers, Members Assembly, Vice Chancellors, heads of educational institutions, intellectuals, columnists, educationists, teachers, parents and children attended the ceremony.

Published in The Nation newspaper on 09-Apr-2016