LAHORE, Feb 12 (APP):Punjab School Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan
on Monday said the school education department would sustain
its policy of handing over administrative control of low performing
public sector schools to private sector for getting better results.
In an interview with APP here, the Minister said
the process of handing over public schools showing poor
performance had not been stopped and more schools will be
given to reputed educational entities.
To a query, he said initially 4,300 low
performing schools,where enrollment was under 20 students only and
their annual result mere 0-20 percent, were handed over to
private educational organizations of good repute which had
improved the enrollments and results extraordinarily and
enrollments rose to 400 per school with 80 percent results.
About the next tenure plans, Mashhood said “The
first-ever technology university would provide technical and
vocational education to students from class 8 onwards on the
Chinese education model”.
“The first-ever Punjab Tianjin Technical University is a
futuristic project which will provide the missing link between
school learning and higher education in the country”, he
added.
He said some 40-45 percent students pursued higher
education in medicine, engineering, information technology and
business studies after intermediate and A-levels in the past,
while the rest 55 percent were left without career options,
To a question,the Minister said PTU would start working from March
1 this year while Head of Departments and Deans of Technical
University will be Chinese nationals, adding the students
would become technologists with capacity to use their
skills across the globe.
Pointing out his government’s landmark initiatives, he
said Punjab government raised school education budget to
Rs 365 billion which was a meager Rs 62 billion before
Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif took over as Punjab Chief Minister.
Rana Mashhood said all education departments, including the higher
education, special education, school education, Literacy and
Non Formal Basic Education were allocated Rs 62 billion
during the previous regimes,whereas Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif
increased it by 400 percent which was reflective of his
education friendly policies.
Talking about the achievements as School Education Minister
over the past four and half years, Rana Mashhood
said transparency and merit had been hallmark of his
administration, adding that these principles induced the
foreign donor agencies to fund school education in Punjab.
“It is a matter of pride for me as minister education that
United Kingdom is the largest donor in education sector in
Punjab and all funding is due to the unshakeable confidence of
UK government in the governance model in Punjab”, he said
adding that the British would fund Punjab school education
department on the vocational training education from class 8
in all public sector schools.
On teaching standards at schools, he said the teaching
standards were raised through the recruitment of PhD, MPhil
and at least master degree holders in Punjab School education
department, stressing 100 PhD holders were serving as
educators in Punjab schools today.
He said current school teacher training module was the
largest in the world and 450,000 teachers were provided
training, adding that the training was started on University
College London (UCL), Cambridge and Oxford model. “Digital
libraries will be launched in all public sector schools in
Punjab from the month of March 2018”, he said.
He said the largest ever school children sports festival
including 15 million Punjab school children was being launched
in partnership with UK Sports and collaboration with UK
government.
The minister said 100 percent budget allocation was
ensured to be utilized in the school education department
adding that 250,000 teachers had been recruited on merit
during the past 4 and half years through NTS and rigorous
short-listing.
About out-of-school children issue, he said the negative
image regarding high number of out of school children was
dealt, adding children between the age group 5-9 years from
brick-kilns, restaurants and petrol stations were brought
to schools. “No children between age 5-9 will be out of school
from the next academic year”, the minister claimed.
He said teachers and students attendance in all schools
across Punjab was raised to 96 per cent from mere 71 per cent
while students attendance had been increased to 95 per cent
from a low of 61 per cent through effective and strict
monitoring during his tenure as School education Minister.
“Any information including attendance on 53,000 schools in
Punjab can be monitored through Open Data Punjab website
today”, he said adding that our monitoring was admired at the
World Education Forum and many countries had wished to adopt
the monitoring system.
About literature on child-abuse in school curriculum, he
said a booklet had been designed in consultation with ulema,
psychologists, educationist and other stakeholders and will
be introduced at primary, elementary and secondary
levels from the next academic session. He further said the
booklet on child abuse will be made part of the curriculum in
private schools and all madrassahs,besides the public sector
schools. “Awareness campaign on child abuse will also be run
across Punjab”, he added.
In his appraisal of Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif as
a team leader, Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan said Shehbaz Sharif was
a torch-bearer of commitment, dedication and patriotism,saying the
education reforms introduced during his tenure will be written
in golden words.
