Education only way to progress: CM

Distributes Rs185m prizes among high achievers

LAHORE

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that education is the only way for overcoming poverty, ignorance and unemployment and putting the country on the road to progress and prosperity.

He said that the goal of ensuring a dignified status to the country in the comity of nations and achieving self-sufficiency could be achieved through promotion of education. He said that in view of the importance of education, the Punjab government was making the all-out effort for promotion of education throughout the province. He said that cash prizes of more than one billion rupees had been distributed among high achievers during the last eight years while one lakh talented and deserving students were being given scholarships from the income of Punjab Educational Endowment Fund. He said that the number of these scholarships would be increased to two lakh during the next one year. He said that had national resources not been plundered in the past and the funds spent on promotion of education, the nation would have been closer to its goal.  The chief minister expressed these views while addressing a prize-distribution ceremony for high achievers in the annual examinations of matriculation and intermediate 2015 at Aiwan-e-Iqbal, here Friday. He awarded prizes of Rs185 million among the students. A contingent of police presented guard of honour to the position-holders. Addressing the ceremony, the chief minister said that it was a historic day as position-holders from all over Pakistan had gathered at Aiwan-e-Iqbal. 

He said that the Punjab government holds this function every year and it reflects national solidarity and this ceremony is a milestone in the promotion of national unity, brotherhood and inter-provincial contact. He said at this splendid ceremony, talented students of Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Federal Board and Punjab are paid tributes before the nation. 

He said that textile exports of Bangladesh were higher than the total exports of Pakistan while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and other countries were far ahead of Pakistan in the field of education. He said the project of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor had become a reality and it was the guarantee to progress and prosperity of the country. He said that power projects were being set up under CPEC through Pakistan, which would help to resolve energy crisis issue.

PM’s adviser meets CM: Adviser to Prime Minister on National History and Literary Heritage Irfan Siddiqui called on Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, here Friday. Matters regarding promotion of national history and literary heritage were discussed in the meeting. 

The chief minister congratulated Irfan Siddiqui on assuming his new responsibilities. He said that under the guidance of Irfan Siddiqui, the institutions related to history and literature would be able to play their role in a better manner. He assured that all-out cooperation would be extended for the promotion of national history and literary heritage. He expressed the hope that Irfan Siddiqui would utilise all his energies and abilities for apprising the new generation of national history and literary heritage.

Medico-legal exam: Shahbaz Sharif presided over a meeting which reviewed various proposals for bringing reforms for improvement in medico-legal examination system.Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said that reforms in medico-legal examination system were the need of the hour for the improvement of criminal justice system. He said that comprehensive recommendations should be formulated with regard to basic reforms in medico-legal examination system and setting up of a separate cadre of medico-legal be considered. 

He said there was a need to pay special attention to training and capacity-building of the staff. He said that criminal justice system could be improved through reforms in medico-legal examination system. He directed the committee set up under the chairmanship of chief secretary to present its final recommendations within 15 days.