Education of special children: Rs651m sanctioned for ‘Centre of Excellence’: CM

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has directed the provincial Finance Minister to accord top priority to the education of special children and give them as much money as required.

“Develop Centre of Excellence for special children in each district as a part of CM’s special initiatives,” said the CM while chairing the 3rd meeting of the Standing Committee of the Cabinet on Finance and Development (SCCFD). Funds worth Rs 651 million were sanctioned to launch the project in 14 districts initially.

The authorities concerned briefed CM that in the first phase, 12 schools for special children will be completely revamped this year. She directed to develop indoor & outdoor play areas and washrooms of international standard for the special children. She said, “Monitoring of the project should be done through live streaming on the dashboard in the Secretary’s office through CCTV cameras.”

She said, “Movement of children will be monitored through trackers in buses while special activity rooms will also be made for the special children.” She said, “The budget of special education schools is being separated from that of school education.”

The CM directed to recruit trained teaching staff for special children. The CM was apprised that a center of excellence for special children will be built on 26 Kanal of land in Lahore.

The CM noted, “Thanks to government policies, inflation in Punjab has come down from 36% to 17%. In the past, the government has been making things expensive for the public by giving money.”

The SCCFD sanctioned funds for ‘Digitization of Settlement and Rehabilitation Records’ of the Finance Department. Funds were also sanctioned to CTD for the purchase of modern security equipment. Supplementary grant for the field hospitals and funds for the ‘Clinic on Wheels’ programme were also approved in the meeting.

Funds were sanctioned for ‘Chief Minister’s Roshan Gharana Programme,’ under which protected customers using 100 units per month will be given solar systems. Funds were also approved for the state-of-the-art computer lab in Government College of Technology, and retro-reflective number plates for vehicles.

The CM directed the authorities concerned to clear backlog of number plates within five months.

The SCCFD gave in-principle approval of International Undergraduate Scholarships and Local Scholarships Programme. Rs20 million were sanctioned by SCCFD for the archaeological excavation of 2500 BC old “Ganveriwala” village in Cholistan.

Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Provincial Ministers Azma Zahid Bukhari and Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman attended the meeting. Chief Secretary, IG Police, Secretaries and other relevant officers were also present.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024