Investment in education sector is investment in future:Pervaiz Elahi

Lahore: Pakistan Muslim League senior central leader and Deputy Prime Minister Ch Parvaiz Elahi has said that investment in education sector means investing in the future of Pakistan, which ever govt do not invest in education, it do not want to see future of Pakistan bright, we paid special attention for providing education facilities to the common man and improving the standard of education in Punjab, established institutions for education and training of special children and child beggars and provided them stipends and other facilities large-heartedly.

Addressing a big gathering of PML leaders and workers in Gujrat today, Ch Parvez Elahi said in the midst of cheers that measures taken under educational reforms and “Parha Likha Punjab Programme” in the field of education during his five years tenure as the Chief Minister were greatly appreciated and hailed not only by scholars and educationists of world repute but also by the international institutions He said that during our tenure as a result of provision of free education, free books and other facilities and stipends for girl students, literacy rate had increased by more than 32 per cent and enrolment at the primary level by over 155 per cent.

Annual budget for education sector including special and informal education was increased by 55 per cent, besides recruitment of 50 thousand new teachers their salaries and allowances were increased by 100 per cent, 18 new universities were established in the province including first women university of the country in Rawalpindi, first veterinary university at Lahore and two medical universities in the public sector. About special education reforms for special; children and child beggars, Ch Parvez Elahi said that budget for special education was increased by 200 per cent, besides first degrees for them in the province in Bahawalpur and Lahore as many as 119 institutions for their education and training were also set up, free pick and drop facilities, monthly stipends, free milk, free books, wheel chairs, brails books, artificial limbs, hearing aids equipment were provided in the special education institutions in the public sector and full govt support and assistance was also provided to the special education institutions in the private sector also. He said besides setting up of I. T. laboratories in all schools and colleges in the province, arrangements were made for imparting training to lakhs of teachers in the national and international institutions, Rs 20 billion were spent on providing missing facilities in about 64 thousand schools all over the province, establishment of two poly technical universities with German and Swedish assistance was approved and 24 new Govt Technical Centres were established in the province.
Addressing the gather, former Provincial Education Minister Mian Imran Masood said that defeat of the fake degree holders has been written on the skies, their misdeeds stand exposed before the people and their patron rulers are against the measures taken by Ch Parvez Elahi for promotion and growth of education in the province. He said those patronizing fake degree holders are enemies of education and this is the reason that they have terminated the steps taken by Ch Parvez Elahi for the growth of education in Punjab. Others who addressed the gathering on this occasion included Zulfiqar Paan, Waseem Khalid Chan, Muhammad Fayyaz, Mumtaz Ahmad, Najeeb Ashraf Cheema, Imran Warraich, Ali Ibrar Jaura, Malik Aamer, Ghulam Murtaza, Akbar Hayat Jaura, Dr Arshad Chaudhry, Ch Zakaullah Dhillon, Ch Ajmal Hussain, Ehsan Bhatti, Mirza Muhammad Siddique and Qazi Ehsan among others.