CM Maryam calls for politically aware youth while unveiling Punjab education reforms

WEB DESK: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Thursday said the Nawaz Sharif Schools of Eminence would provide global-standard education to underprivileged students, adding that the institutions would have IT labs and libraries. She also urged students to be politically aware and active so that they are able to make an informed choice in future.

Addressing the launch of provincial government’s education reforms, she said the schools would become role-model institutions and that their scope would be expanded to every tehsil of Punjab. She also took the opportunity to speak about upcoming AJK elections.

Education reforms and student support

“We are bringing revolutionary reforms to the education sector and will modernise it through educational reforms,” Maryam said. She added that the government was working to improve Punjab’s education system and nurture the province’s talent.

She said public educational institutions would be brought on a par with private schools and the educational gap between the two sectors would be eliminated. Government schools would be provided with an environment and modern facilities similar to private institutions, she added.

Maryam said teachers at the Schools of Eminence would receive training at the international level. “The education sector remained neglected in the past because of incompetent governments,” she said, adding that government schools had once been good.

The chief minister said Punjab had 49,000 schools, of which 10,000 had been upgraded. She said the highest-ever education budget had been allocated compared to the past and added that it was the state’s responsibility to provide students with all educational facilities.

She said students lacking resources would be provided iPads and laptops. The government was also providing 100,000 electric bikes free of cost to students across the province, she said. Boys would have to pay a down payment of Rs15,000 for the bikes, while there would be no down payment for girls.

“If parents lack resources, Maryam Nawaz will make up for the shortage of resources for their daughters,” she said.

Maryam said 300 Nawaz Sharif Schools were being built across Punjab and the schools would now be established in every tehsil of the province. She added that Honhaar scholarships would be provided to students seeking university education.

She said 500,000 daughters were being trained to empower women, while young people wishing to go abroad had been provided training and Rs300,000.

“The respect the people have given me is a debt I owe them,” she said, adding that instead of giving false assurances for five years, her government had shown results through its work.

Appeal for PML-N vote in AJK

Maryam urged the people of Azad Kashmir to vote for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in the elections. “People should not vote for parties whose rulers cannot sleep over the suffering of their people,” she said.

The chief minister said issues could only be resolved through constitutional means and vowed that the PML-N would launch development projects across Azad Kashmir. “We will not allow anyone to disturb the peace of Azad Kashmir,” she added.

Maryam said beautiful markets were being built in all cities and tehsils of Punjab and that every city had an equal right to beautiful markets and cleanliness.

She said roads were being widened in Sheikhupura, Kasur and other districts at a cost of billions of rupees. Public parks were also being built for citizens in all districts across the province, she added.

The chief minister urged people to act as responsible citizens and refrain from throwing garbage in the streets. She also asked citizens to keep their green buses clean and pay special attention to cleanliness.

Housing, agriculture and infrastructure

The chief minister said the WASA system was available in only 40 districts across Punjab. She said that if it rained in Arifwala, there would be no need to bring a vehicle from Lahore for drainage.

She said 200,000 houses were being built in two years under the Apni Chhat Apna Ghar scheme, with 700 houses being constructed in Punjab every day. The scope of the scheme would be expanded to 500,000 houses, she added.

Maryam said citizens could obtain loans of up to Rs500,000 for the construction and repair of weak roofs. The loan would have to be repaid over nine years, she said. A Rs1m loan was also available for the construction of a three-room house, payable in easy instalments over nine years.

She said 30,000 families in the province were being provided agricultural land on a lease of Rs100 per year. Young people were being given up to five acres of land for farming at Rs50,000 per acre, she added.

“We are introducing the Apna Khet Apna Rozgar scheme for farmers in Punjab,” she said.

The chief minister said roads spanning 40,000 kilometres were being built in all districts of Punjab and a network of paved roads was also being laid in villages. Metro bus projects were being launched in Faisalabad and Gujranwala, she added.

“We are going to build not only Punjab’s but Pakistan’s first state-of-the-art hospital,” she said.