No rest until every child goes to school: Nawaz

Launches Educational Reforms Programme in Islamabad; Maryam Nawaz to voluntarily spearhead programme; 422 schools of Islamabad, adjoining areas being renovated in initial phase

ISLAMABAD: Launching the Educational Reforms Programme here on Friday, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif announced that he wouldn’t rest until every child of the country goes to school. The programme is voluntarily spearheaded by Maryam Nawaz and in initial phase 422 schools of Islamabad and adjoining areas are being renovated.

Nawaz visited the Higher Secondary School, Panjgaran, in the outskirts of the federal capital and elevated it to the level of degree college. The school has been converted into a state-of-the-art educational institution.

Addressing the students, Nawaz said he was committed to ensuring that every child of schoolgoing age got quality education and served the nation as a useful citizen. “Education is the basic right of every child, and I am fully committed to ensuring that every child in Pakistan gets access to it,” he said.

The prime minister said his government accorded high priority to education and was doing all within its means to raise the literacy level.

Nawaz said apart from improving the buildings, the focus would also be on teachers’ training and modern curriculum meeting the demands of the day.

He said a computerised system would monitor all educational institutions so renovated, while biometric systems would ensure attendance of the staff.“All new appointments of teachers would strictly be made on merit alone, and no undue recommendations or influence would be entertained,” he vowed.

Nawaz said promotions at the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) would be made on the basis of skills, performance, qualification and training experience rather than on the basis of duration of service. He said upgradation programme would also enable parents to be in touch with educational institutions through email and SMS.

Nawaz said his Educational Reforms Programme was to serve as a role model for other provinces.“We can do it in one month; the provinces too can do it in a short period of time.”

He said the first phase of upgradation of 21 institutions would be completed by January 15 and work on other schools would be completed within a few months. He was also appreciative of the upgraded facilities in the college; however, he asked the CADD minister to ensure that quality items were used in the buildings.

He directed further improvement in bathrooms and said thecontractors should give surety that the building and other stuff would serve for at least 20 to 25 years.

The prime minister announced to provide 200 school buses for the federal capital which would pick and drop children in urban and rural areas. He said the buses would be provided in phases and would also be linked to the Metro bus stations for easy accessibility.

He said young students were the future of the country and urged them to focus on their studies and show utmost respect to their teachers and parents.

Minister for CADD Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said the PM’s Education Reforms Initiative was a dream come true for the students and staff of the college as their institution witnessed a sea-change in a few months’ time. He expressed gratitude to the prime minister for the initiative, which he said would go a long way in imparting quality education and ensuring high literacy rate in the country.

Principal of the college Tasneem Sami thanked the prime minister for his initiative and said it had transformed the shabby building into a modern educational institution.

Nawaz unveiled the plaque of the programme at the Federal College for Women, Panjgaran, Chak Shahzad.

Under the programme, the facilities of science and IT labs, libraries, sports, better classrooms and play areas would be upgraded in educational institutions. Some 21 educational institutions in the federal capital will be upgraded in the first month, while the remaining would be upgraded later.

The prime minister visited various sections of the college. He visited classrooms, talked to students and teachers and inquired about the facilities required and the problems they face. He had a candid discussion with students.

Maryam Nawaz, Federal Minister Senator Pervez Rashid, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Ms. Anusha Rehman Ahmad Khan, and Ms. Saira Afzal Tarar accompanied the prime minister.