Free education package for kiln children approved

CM says Rs1,000 per month will be given to every child going to school; an annual stipend of Rs2,000 will be given to parents on admission of children to schools

LAHORE

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif presided over a meeting of the steering committee set up for elimination of child labour at brick kilns on Monday. The chief minister approved a special package for the education of children working at brick kilns. Under the package besides 100 percent free education, a special stipend of Rs 1,000 per month will be given to every child going to school whereas an annual stipend of Rs 2,000 will be given to the parents on admission of children in schools.

Free treatment facilities will also be provided to the children and their parents. The government will also bear transport expenses of the children going to far-flung schools. Shahbaz Sharif also gave an approval to the draft ordinance for eliminating child labour from brick kilns. Under the ordinance, kiln owners involved in child labour will be awarded up to six-month imprisonment. On violation, there will be a summary trail of kiln owner and will be fined Rs 500,000. The kiln will also be sealed on child labour.

Addressing the meeting, the chief minister vowed that child labour would be eliminated from kilns at every cost and concerned institutions would have to work with a commitment for this purpose. He said committees would be constituted at district level for checking child labour at brick kilns. He said DCO of every district would be head of the committee and DCO and DPO would check kilns regularly in their respective districts and submit reports. Assistant Commissioner and SDPO will also check the kilns at tehsil level. Shahbaz Sharif said announcement of the package for eliminating child labour from brick kilns was a very important step. He said that under this package, books, stationery, uniforms, shoes and school bags would be provided to the children free of cost. The chief minister directed that 100 percent enrollment of the children working at brick kilns should be ensured and the proposal of installing CCTV cameras for checking of brick kilns should also be considered. Provincial Ministers Rana Sanaullah, Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, Rana Mashhood Ahmed, Spokesman for Punjab government Zaeem Hussain Qadri, chief secretary, additional chief secretary, concerned secretaries and senior officials attended the meeting.

Talent Scholarship: The Punjab government has decided to launch "Chief Minister's Talent Scholarship Programme" under which eligible boy and girl students of government universities will be given scholarships for higher education at the best universities of the world. Under this programme, one hundred students will get scholarships for studying at 100 top universities of international standard.

It was decided in a high level meeting presided over by Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif on Monday. 

Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said youths were the future of Pakistan and Chief Minister's Talent Scholarship Programme was a useful investment for the future of the country. The chief minister said education was the only way for progress and prosperity of the nation. He said empowerment of youth and imparting of modern knowledge to them was the need of the hour. He said the Punjab government had taken solid measures for the promotion of quality education in the province. He said on the one hand top position holders were sent on study tours of the best universities of the world while on the other opportunities of higher education were being provided to the boy and girl students at local and foreign universities through the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund. 

Shahbaz Sharif said Chief Minister's Talent Scholarship Programme was another revolutionary step of the Punjab government, which would enable the youth to study at the best universities of the world and play their role in strengthening the national economy. The chief minister issued instructions for setting up a committee under the chairmanship of chief secretary Punjab and directed the committee to present final recommendations regarding the procedure for awarding scholarships under the Chief Minister's Talent Scholarship Programme, selection of subjects and other issues. He directed that provision of scholarships to 1,000 boy and girl students for higher education at local universities should be considered and recommendations be presented in this regard. Provincial Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmad, Chief Secretary Khizar Hayat Godhal, Dr. Amjad Saqib and concerned officers attended the meeting.