LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has approved the Public School Reorganisation Programme and the launch of the Green School Programme, under which each student will plant at least one sapling and digital mapping of the plants will be done.
While chairing a meeting to review the Public Schools Reorganization Programme here on Monday, the CM said that a target had been set to construct and rehabilitate 1,000 grounds of government schools in six months, and directed the relevant officials to start weekly and monthly competitions in government schools.
The meeting was attended by Punjab School Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat, Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Zahid Bukhari, legislators and senior officials.
She also directed them for a comprehensive mapping of schools to determine facilities and needs across Punjab. She called for a plan to regularise 14,000 AEOs and SSEs in Punjab.
She further directed them to assign duties to members of the provincial assembly for monitoring of schools and an overview of making e-transfer easy and feasible for teachers, adding the authorities concerned should restore 603 non-functional schools across Punjab.
She told the meeting that the introduction of 12 technology courses at matriculation level would be ensured and she agreed to make school management councils functional and effective. She added that it was possible to create a classroom, IT lab and SMC at a low cost.
The CM also directed to issue guidelines for developing a comprehensive school education policy for revamping the school system and reviewed the provision of virtual reality rooms, tech rooms, art rooms and other modern facilities in government schools.
She was of the view that improvement in the system could not be done without introducing a reward and punishment system, adding that lack of funds for education would not be tolerated. She announced that the Early Childhood Education Centre of Excellence would be established in every district.
On this occasion, Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat briefed the CM on the restructuring programme. He said the process of monitoring was in progress through the district school monitoring system, adding that 200,000 out-of-school children were studying in 6,000 literacy campuses in 12 districts.
The CM was further apprised that CM Punjab School Nutrition Programme’s pilot project in Rajanpur, Layyah and Bhakkar would start in August.
Moreover, it was decided in the meeting to form the Punjab Education Curriculum, Training, and Assessment Authority (PECTAA) by merging the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board, Quaid-e-Azam Academy of Educational Development and Punjab Examination Commission.
Furthermore, the CM was told that the outsourcing process of 5,863 schools would be completed by August 5 and 400,000 students would be equipped with IT skills in the next four years. The meeting also reviewed proposals for the introduction of spoken English and character-building classes in government schools.
The meeting also agreed on teacher meetings and quarterly student report cards in government schools.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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