The government has earmarked Rs 2 billion for providing quality education through Daanish Schools which will benefit talented students from the underdeveloped areas of the province. The government will set up eight Daanish Schools in the Layyah, Lodhran, Vehari and Bhakkar districts during the next financial year, said Punjab Education Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman. Speaking at his Punjab Assembly chamber on Monday, he said his government accorded high priority to education and that special measures were being taken to raise the literacy rate to 80 percent by 2015.
During the next fiscal year almost 1.25 lakh laptop computers will be disbursed among talented students and Rs 4 billion have been allocated in the budget for this purpose, he said. The minister said another Rs 6.5 billion have been allocated for the Punjab Education Foundation while Rs 4 billion are meant for providing “missing facilities” in primary and middle schools. “16,000 teachers will be appointed to teach science and mathematics on merit during the fiscal year 2012-13,” Shuja-ur-Rehman added.
To a question, the minister said the private and public sector education institutions charging more than Rs 5,000 fee per month will be asked to allocate 10 percent of their seats for poor students in the next financial year.