LAHORE, Oct 4 (APP): Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that education was the only way to tackle the challenges of poverty, unemployment and ignorance.
He said the Punjab government had evolved a solid strategy for the uplift of education sector and Punjab Educational Endowment Fund had been set up for the promotion of education besides meeting needs of less-privileged but talented students.
Shehbaz Sharif said that educational scholarships of billions of rupees had been distributed among 150,000 boy and girl students who were studying at prestigious local and international educational institutions.
He said that volume of the fund would increase to 20 billion rupees during current year while the number of students getting scholarships from the income of the fund would increase to 200,000.
He was talking to assembly members of various districts. The Chief Minister said that Punjab Educational Endowment Fund set up for the promotion of education in Punjab was unprecedented in Asia and had become the biggest educational fund in the region.
He said that all-out resources had been made available for imparting education to children, as provision of funds for this purpose was a useful investment. He said that the target of speedy development and strong economy could be achieved only through promotion of education.
The Chief Minister said that Punjab Educational Endowment Fund, voucher scheme of Punjab Education Foundation, Daanish Schools, distribution of cash prizes among position-holder students and their sturdy tours abroad, provision of laptops on merit and other revolutionary measures were playing an important role in promotion of education.
He said that children of Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and other provinces of Pakistan had also been included in the educational programmes of Punjab which was promoting national unity and solidarity.
Shehbaz Sharif said the Punjab government had evolved a project to set up Knowledge Park over a vast piece of land in Lahore. He said that Knowledge Park was the first and a unique project in the history of the country.
He said that campuses of prominent local and foreign educational institutions would also be established in the Knowledge Park which would promote quality education.