Literacy centres on mosques premises being planned: minister

LAHORE:Provincial Minister for Literacy and Non Formal Basic Education (LNFBE) Raja Rashid Hafeez has said the department is planning to launch Literacy Centres in mosques under the administrative control of provincial Auqaf Department across Punjab.

In a maiden media interaction along with Secretary of department Arif Anwar Baloch here Thursday, he said the Auqaf Department had been taken on board and added that the educated Imam of the mosques would be engaged in teaching the students. They will teach Mathematics, English and Urdu besides the religious teachings they are already imparting there. An administrative meeting between the Auqaf and LNFBE secretaries was already held to chalk out the modalities of the programme while Auqaf Department started preparing the lists of their Imams. Raja Rashid said that with the efforts of the Punjab government, JICA agreed to provide support and grant for the literacy and non-formal basic education after three years break. The JICA will provide support for teachers training and curriculum development as well. He said the donors’ confidence was reviving after the government transparent policy on projects while 220 institutes of the departments were revamped with the support of UNICEF during the last one year. Similarly, 238 new literacy centres were set up in jails since when the PTI government came to power. He mentioned that first time in the history of the province three centres are made for the transgender and 15 institutes for gypsies while 22,000 new students were enrolled.

body to address medical institutions issues: The Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education (SHCME) Department has constituted an administrative committee for five medical teaching institutions in Punjab to address the immediate and important administrative and financial issues of the institutions.

In pursuance of Section 6 (10) of the Punjab Medical and Health Institutions Act, 2003, the competent authority constituted the administrative committee comprising SHCME secretary, finance secretary, the commissioner concerned, and the principal/dean of the medical institution concerned for Sahiwal Medical College, Sahiwal, Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology, Faisalabad, DG Khan Medical College, DG Khan, The Children’s Hospital and The Institute of Child Health (CH&ICH), Multan and Punjab Institute of Neuro Sciences, Lahore, till the time the boards are constituted and become functional.

synopses: A meeting of Punjab University’s Advanced Studies and Research Board (AS&RB) was here on Thursday which approved 38 PhD synopses. The meeting chaired by Vice-Chancellor Prof Niaz Ahmad also approved 32 panel of examiners and two miscellaneous cases.

salary raise approved: Punjab Minister for Higher Education Raja Yasir Humayun Sarfraz has said neither the Govt Fatima Jinnah College, Chuna Mandi is being handed over to the Walled City Lahore Authority nor shifted to anywhere else.

He said this after the 22nd Board of Governors meeting of the college here on Thursday. The BoG also approved 10 per cent increase in salary of the college teaching staff. The minister also suggested that the fee of the needy students could be covered through the college’s endowment fund. Raja Yasir Humayun said the federal government had approached the Higher Education Department (HED) Punjab with a suggestion to use the historic college building for tourism purposes. He said keeping in view the historic significance of the college infrastructure a suggestion about guided tour of the college on weekly holidays was still under consideration.