LAHORE, Pakistan: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif Wednesday said the government had taken revolutionary measures for promotion of quality education by equipping the young generation with the latest knowledge.
“The Punjab Educational Endowment Fund (PEEF) has revolutionalised the education sector and opened doors of quality education to resourceless but talented students,” the chief minister said while addressing a ceremony in connection with distribution of scholarships under the PEEF at Aiwan-e-Iqbal in Lahore.
The Chief Minister said the provincial government was attaching high significance to education especially to students of poor families and by starting educational programmes like PEEF, it had taken a step toward minimizing gulf between the rich and the poor.
“Rs 17 billion for two lakh students is a safe investment for a bright future of the country,” he mentioned.
Shahbaz Sharif said he was committed to ensure a bright and prosperous future for talented and hard working students and fund was a proof of this fact through which lakhs of students were getting modern education in various sectors.
The PEEF was an initiative of the Punjab government with aim to provide the best educational opportunities to the less privileged and talented youth of Punjab and bring them at par with the most fortunate ones, he added.
The Chief Minister maintained that elite of the country had created opportunities of higher education for their own children whereas children of the poor were deprived of even basic education.
He added that elimination of economic and social disparity was essential for making Pakistan a great country.
He stressed the need to invest in education, research and technology sectors to change course of history and destiny of the nation.
Shahbaz Sharif recalled that 2014 sit-in had made a serious dent to the national economy.
The Chief Minister said darkness would be eliminated from the country by the end of 2017. He added speedy work was in progress on energy projects and 3,600 megawatt power would be added to the national system from February to November this year.
The Chief Minister said owing to good policies of the government foreign investors were willing to invest in various projects blindly.
Representatives of civil society, students, PEEF scholars, teachers and a large number of parents attended the ceremony.
Later, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif along with students sung a national song.
