Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif presided over a high-level meeting here on Monday which gave approval to various measures for the welfare of special persons.
The meeting also approved in principle the appointment of mentors at tehsil-level for the guidance of special persons.
Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said the Punjab government has taken exemplary measures for the welfare of special persons. He said special persons are an important segment of the society and steps will be continued for making them useful citizens. He said help and rehabilitation of special persons is the responsibility of the state and all-out resources will be utilised for this purpose. He said special persons deserve special treatment of the society.
Sharif said that Khidmat Card programme has been started for the assistance of special persons. He said the disabled persons are being given financial assistance on permanent basis through the Khidmat Card. He said registration of special persons is continuing throughout the province. He said that financial assistance of Rs 1,200 per month is being given to special persons through the Khidmat Card. He said that the quota of disabled persons in jobs has been increased from two percent to three percent. He said job opportunities have been created for 950 blind persons in public sector institutions and for 721 highly educated disabled persons in universities and colleges.
Sharif said that registration of 26,000 blind persons has been completed and they will be given age relaxation of up to 10 years in government jobs. He said special centres have been set up in 13 districts for the rehabilitation of blind persons. He said that besides free treatment facilities, 50 percent reduction in transport charges has been made for special persons. The chief minister said that an exemplary programme is continuing to make special persons active members of the society instead of being a burden. He said that special persons are also being imparted skills under Skills Development Programme. He said that steps should also be taken at district-level for the betterment of special persons.
Sharif also presided over a high-level meeting which reviewed the pace of implementation of reforms programme in education sector.
The meeting expressed its satisfaction over the steps taken under reforms programme for ensuring attendance of teachers in schools and promotion of quality education.
Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said the Punjab government has evolved a splendid programme for achieving the targets in education sector till 2018. He said that under ‘Parho Punjab, Barho Punjab’ programme the attendance of teachers has substantially improved in schools. He said that promotion of quality education is his mission and it will be fulfilled at any cost.
The CM announced a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each for EDO Education Gujranwala Muhammad Sohaib Imran and EDO Education Narowal Ayaz Sabir for their outstanding performance for achieving educational targets. He said that the system of reward and punishment is essential for the achievement of the targets in education sector. He said that officers showing good performance will be encouraged while inefficient officials will be held accountable.
