ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has declared emergency in education all over Pakistan on Wednesday, stating that he would meet the chief ministers of all the provinces in this regard.

Addressing the National Education Conference in Islamabad, he said no nation can develop without education and deplored that the big challenge is how to get 26 million out-of-school children back into the schools.

He said that this is a difficult task to handle but not impossible as resources, special focus and commitment is required. Additionally, he said that the stunting is another big challenge of the country.

The prime minister said that Pakistan became a nuclear country despite external pressure, terrorism is the biggest challenge for the country as 80,000people have lost their lives in the war against terrorists. The premier said that education is a must for the development of any country.

Shehbaz Sharif said that forced labour was ended in Punjab during 2008 to 2018 and gave money to the parents of the labourer children besides over 10,000 schools were upgraded in the province and their educational standards improved. He added that with the help of the British government, vocational institutes were established in Punjab w. In 2008, the Education Endowment Fund was established in the province, which was the largest education fund in the region.

He said that for the children who did not have the resources to attend school, a fund was created by allocating money every year that was used to afoot their education expenses. He said that from that fund 450,000 students were provided scholarships besides, education scholarships and uniforms were arranged for the students.

He said that the government would ensure the enrolment of 26 million out-of-school children in schools, and stated that he declares an education emergency in Pakistan. He said he would meet all the chief ministers.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024