No child to be left illiterate, says Murad

LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Schools Education Murad Raas has said the dream of a new Pakistan cannot be materialised without 100 percent literacy rate as ignorance is a social menace.

The Punjab government has given particular attention to the promotion of education in the new budget because we are fully committed that no child will be left without education in the new Pakistan of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas was chief guest at a conference “Releasing the Genius in Pakistan: A meeting of great minds and great ideas” organised by a private school at a hotel Thursday.

The minister said the Punjab government is giving special attention to educational research and qualitative approach has been employed so that students could improve their knowledge and remain aware of new educational challenges arising around them.

He said that education is not limited to studying textbooks only but its real purpose is to broaden the intellectual ken of the students so that they could optimally utilise their energies with confidence.

He said that 21st century carries multiple challenges for the students and added that IT is the key to success in this era of constant challenges. This requires that students should be fully empowered to deal with new challenges, he added. He welcomed the holding of the conference and hoped that this event would benefit the students in a number of ways.

Talking to reporters, the minister said that school libraries would be totally transformed by the school education department and they would be made user-friendly. Kimberley Langen, the award-winning CEO and co-founder of the school spoke about the vital nature of unleashing innovation and imagination as drivers for the development of students into the leaders of tomorrow’s Pakistan.

Addressing the audience, former Minister of Education Punjab, Mian Imran Masood reminisced the many challenges and key initiatives implemented during his tenure and his strong desire to bring such initiatives brought back to the forefront and re-energised with the current ministry under the leadership of Dr Raas. Imran Masood highlighted the role of the private school sector in enhancing the literacy rate in Pakistan.