An excellent step in the right direction. Though I would have liked to see this decision accompanied with another side order, making matriculation mandatory for all, since its being accorded for free, but I realize, we have to take it one step at a time. Great move. Hopefully other provinces will follow suit as well, and will prompt the federal govt to chip in as well.
LAHORE: The Punjab government on Saturday announced free education for the students of public sector schools up to the matriculation level.
Chief Minister Ch Pervaiz Elahi stated this while briefing newsmen about the important decisions taken in the three-hour long first Cabinet meeting at Civil Secretariat Saturday. He said the decision would be implemented from next April when the schools would start the new session.
All the public sector schools run by the Punjab government and district governments will follow the decision, he said. He said he had directed the education minister to hold a meeting with the administration of private schools to persuade them to allocate two per cent quota for the poor students in their schools. He directed MPAs to inspect the performance of schools in their constituencies and motivate the philanthropists to sponsor free food and books for the poor students in the schools of their areas.
Talking about the benefits of the new education policy, the chief minister said it would persuade the poor parents to send their children to schools. He said there was also a proposal to provide free education to the poor students, which would decrease the increasing drop out ratio of primary school students and enhance the literacy rate in the province. He said he had further directed the education minister to constitute a committee to frame more incentive-oriented policies for the poor students. He said the committee would point out ghost schools in far-flung areas and ensure the presence of teachers in these schools. He said the education sector would be the top priority of his government.
Talking about law & order situation, he said they had called the IG Police to brief the new cabinet on the present law & order situation. The chief minister said he had directed the IGP to arrest the proclaimed offenders immediately and to take strict action against those providing hideouts to them. He said the people sheltering the proclaimed offenders should also be treated as criminals. He further directed all the SPs to bring the crime figures down in their areas. He, however, praised the police department for controlling the sectarian killings.
The chief minister also urged the provincial ministers to chalk out welfare-oriented projects of their concerned departments, which could give relief to the common man. He said such projects would be presented in next Cabinet meeting. He also directed his ministers to evolve new policies and initiatives in the next meeting. He told them to make all decisions on merit and law and take strict action against the corrupt elements.
He said his government would avoid issuing new ordinances and take new initiatives through legislation. The chief minister expressed his concern over increasing expenditures on the food in weddings. He said the government would hold public debate on the issue after which they would table a bill.
He said the cabinet had also decided to ban the sale of cigarettes to the juveniles. He said he had directed the police and health departments to provide immediate medical treatment to the injured instead of waiting for the police action in the hospitals. He said such decisions would help the government minimize people’s problems.
The chief minister said he was against the extra-judicial killings. He was quite satisfied with his cabinet and the ministers were also happy.
Earlier, the Home Secretary Brig (retd) Ijaz Ahmad Shah apprised the meeting of law and order situation in the province and highlighted priorities of the government. The secretary finance informed the meeting about financial matters as well as development activities. The chief minister directed the authorities concerned to allocate maximum funds for development projects by reducing non-development expenditures. He announced that the resources allocated for various departments would be linked to their performance.