Punjab Cabinet, which met here Tuesday with Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar in the chair, accorded approval to the Punjab Education Professionals Standards Council Bill, 2018 and provision of Urdu medium books to the students of government schools. Now, primary education will be imparted in Urdu language and English will be taught as a subject.
The meeting approved Parole Act, 2019 and decided to shutdown Punjab Bio-energy Company Pvt Ltd. Assessment Policy Framework, 2019 of schools education department was also approved. It has been decided to discontinue 5th and 8th class exams in phases.
The Cabinet meeting approved the Punjab Forests Policy, 2019 and also approved to change the nomenclature of district wildlife officer (grade-17) to assistant director wildlife (grade-17).
The meeting decided to develop Kalabagh private game reserve in district Mianwali under section 20 of Punjab Wildlife Act. On this occasion, the draft of Punjab Wildlife Protected Areas Act, 2019 was also approved.
The meeting approved special audit reports of C&W, Housing & Physical Planning, Local Government and Cholistan Development Authority under PM's Global Sustainable Development Goals Achievements Program for the financial year 2016-18.
Principle approval of constituting Punjab Local Government Finance Commission was also given while the agenda relating to giving state land to DHA Gujranwala was deferred. A committee headed by Law Minister Raja Basharat will submit final recommendations after going through this matter.
The signing of MoU between Punjab police and public security department of Chinese Jiangsu province for enhancing bilateral cooperation was handed over to the cabinet committee for legislative business which will submit its recommendations after detailed deliberations.
The meeting endorsed the decisions made in the 19th meeting of the cabinet standing committee for finance and development.
IG Police informed the Cabinet meeting that the law & order situation had been improved and the crime rate has decreased. Police have ensured effective implementation on the steps taken for the elimination of terrorism under NAP, he added.
Ministers, advisors, special assistants, chief secretary and high officials attended the meeting.
Information Minister Punjab Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan, lauding the decision of Punjab cabinet to make Urdu as the language of curriculum and medium of instruction at primary level in the government schools, has said that teaching in the national language would prove beneficial for learning in the early years of students' education.
Chohan further said the decision of the Punjab Cabinet would particularly be beneficial for the less developed regions of Punjab. Making Urdu language a medium of instruction will facilitate education at the primary level which will help in empowering the mental capacities of the students of the entire province.
Commenting on the arrest of Ahsan Iqbal at the hands of NAB, the Information Minister said PML-N was reaping what it sowed whilst in power. No one would be spared in the process of accountability, he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019