Punjab Chief Minister, Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that elimination of illiteracy and ignorance as well as promotion of quality education is his top priority for equipping the youth with modern education so as to ensure a bright future for the country.
He said that 40,000 educators are being recruited in the province on merit and complete transparency is being ensured in the recruitment process. He issued instructions for setting up a special steering committee comprising divisional commissioners, elected representatives and district education officers for close monitoring and scrutiny of the process of recruitment of educators.
He was presiding over a high level meeting regarding recruitment of educators in Punjab, here on Friday. Provincial Finance Minister Tanvir Ashraf Kaira, Members Provincial Assembly Chaudhry Abdul Razzaq Dhilon, Major Abdul Rehman (Retd), Chairman Taskforce on Education Raja Muhammad Anwar, Addl. Chief Secretary, Secretary Higher Education and Schools, Commissioners of Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sahiwal and Sargodha divisions were present.
Shahbaz said that government is utilising all available resources for the uplift of education sector and record funds have been allocated for this purpose. He said that a large number of posts of teachers are vacant in schools due to which students are facing serious problems.
He said that provision of quality education and filling of vacancies of teachers in schools is the responsibility of the government. He said that there is a need to equip the new generation with modern and quality education otherwise the history will never forgive us. He said that the goal of rapid development and prosperity can only be achieved through uplift of education sector.
He said that attendance of teachers especially lady teachers in far-flung and remote areas is also a problem and there is a need to evolve an effective strategy in this regard so that the future of students could be safeguarded. He issued instructions for the formation of a special committee headed by Addl. Chief Secretary, which will submit its recommendations for the recruitment of teachers in far-flung areas of backward districts.
He said that recruitment of local male and female teachers in remote areas is essential for ensuring their attendance in schools. He said that there will be no discretionary marks in the recruitment of educators and the whole process will be conducted purely on merit.
He also issued instructions for constituting special teams comprising concerned commissioners, Provincial Assembly Members and officers of education department for monitoring and scrutiny of recruitment of educators in the districts as well as ensuring upholding of merit and transparency in the entire process.
Earlier, Secretary Education Schools while giving details about the recruitment of teachers in the province informed that a transparent policy has been evolved and high level committees have been constituted for this purpose. The Chief Minister appreciated the performance of Commissioner Faisalabad during the meeting for taking effective action against criminal elements in the division.