Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that appreciation of the steps taken by the Punjab government in skill development, education and other sectors by the British minister for international development and international institutions is a matter of pride not only for Punjab but for the whole country.
He said that the Punjab government is ready to share its experiences with the other provinces. He said that every effort was being made by the government to fulfill the responsibility given to it by people of Pakistan and international institutions are also commending the performance of the Punjab government. The CM said that good governance, transparency and self-accountability were the hallmarks of the Punjab government.
Talking to journalists in London on Wednesday the CM said that the revolutionary measures taken by the government for the promotion of education in the province were yielding positive results. He said that poor but talented students were also getting education in prestigious educational institutions with the help of Punjab Educational Endowment Fund (PEEF) and the government had provided opportunities of higher education to the brilliant children of deprived segments of the society through this revolutionary program. He said that many children of poor families were also studying through the voucher scheme of the Punjab Education Foundation.
The Chief Minister said that due to steps taken by the Punjab government for the promotion of education, no child would remain deprived of education. He said that in order to encourage brilliant students, position-holders were being sent on study tour to educational institutions of foreign countries.
In addition to Punjab, students of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KP), Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and other regions of the country had also been included in this program, hence promoting national solidarity.
He said that Skill Development Program was also continuing successfully and thousands of boys and girls had so far been imparted training under this program. He said that instead of spending resources on the construction of buildings, a skilled force was being prepared with the help of renowned companies under Skill Development Program. He said that a state-of-the-art knowledge park was being set up in the provincial metropolis where campuses of various universities will be set up and a conference of the representatives of prominent foreign educational institutions will soon be arranged in Lahore.
OVERSEAS PAKISTANIS SHOULD SHARE EXPERTISE SAYS CM:Talking to delegations of Pakistanis in London, the CM said that Pakistanis were rendering commendable services in engineering, medicine, banking and other sectors in different countries. He said that expatriate Pakistanis should share their experiences in different sectors with other Pakistanis. He said that overseas Pakistanis should prove through their conduct that they are a peaceful, tolerant and a self-respecting nation. Shahbaz said that overseas Pakistanis should work with honesty and dedication and assured that their problems would be resolved on priority basis. He said that he will himself ensure recovery of the properties of overseas Pakistanis in Pakistan if they have been grabbed.
The Pakistani delegations thanked the CM for holding an overseas Pakistanis convention in Lahore adding that he had won their hearts. They said that Shahbaz had proved his deep love and sympathy with the Pakistanis living abroad and commended his services as Punjab CM.