It is good to note that the Punjab Government has recently launched a comprehensive project for elimination of child labour from different sectors. The project launched as yet another initiative of energetic and innovative mind Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif not only aims at elimination of child labour but also go a long way in promoting education in the vulnerable section of the society by sending school going age children to the schools.
According to the reports, proper, effective and efficient implementation of the comprehensive project, estimated to cost huge amount of Rs 5 billion, will help in elimination of child labour from auto workshops, filling stations , service stations, hotels, restaurants and brick kilns where large number of children are seen working instead of going to the schools because of various factors. The project on one hand eliminate child labour from these sectors and on the other hand ensure enrolment of the children in the non-formal basic education centres and skill training centres to enable them get some essential education and acquire some technical skills for earning livelihood for themselves and their families in a quite respectable manner.
Reports said even prior to the launching of the Integrated Project for Elimination of Child Labour and Promotion of Decent Work, some measures were already undertaken on the direction of the Chief Minister and a as many as over 70 thousand children had been enrolled in collaboration with well-reputed NGOs in different non-formal basic education centres, Punjab Education Foundation partner schools and Provincial School Education Department after successful campaign for elimination of child labour under the age of 14 years from brick kilns throughout the province. This is not all. Adolescents aged between 14 to 18 years in pretty large number had also been enrolled in vocational training institutions for training in various vocations.
All this surely augurs well for elimination of child labour as well as enrolment of the children in educational institutions all over the province.
While appreciating all these measures for elimination of child labour from the province, the official quarters concerned of the Punjab Government are requested to launch similar comprehensive project for elimination of beggary in general and of children begging in particular at the earliest possible. Increasing number of beggars including the children thronging all markets, shopping centres and main crossings in Lahore and elsewhere in the province certainly do not give good look and are virtually a slap on the society to say the least.
Kamran Khan
Lahore
Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) is the largest public private based program of providing free quality education to the children of low income families in the Punjab. This foundation is providing free education to around 25 lakh most needy students in all the 36 districts in the Punjab. This foundation is partnering with thousands of private schools and the monthly fees as well as textbooks are provided to partner schools so that the deserving students may study without being burdened. It is heartening that 45 percent of the beneficiary students are girls. PEF is also efficiently shouldering Education Sector Reforms Program of the Punjab Government. Similarly, after arranging free education of more than 6500 male and female students in vast Cholistan desert in Bahawalpur division through 76 community schools which were earlier started by the Cholistan Development Authority, mobile schooling project is also started there. This is a unique idea which will benefit the local nomads there. Punjab Education Foundation has launched this mobile schooling project for the nomads dwelling deep in the Cholistan. Under this project, ten mobile schools have started working from January 2016. A target of providing free quality education to as much as ten thousand male and female nomad children has been envisaged. PEF has also provided motorcycles and petrol facility to the teachers so that they could easily move in the desert. Punjab Education Foundation has been entrusted by the School Education Department to rerun its low-performing schools on non-commercial/ non-profit basis through the collaboration of private partners. For this purpose, Public School Support Program has been launched to provide best quality education to the local communities. Meanwhile, a number of other steps have also been taken, which includes launch of pilot project for the education of special children in Lahore, Multan, Vehari, Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Chakwal in collaboration with special education department. This project will help to introduce and promote inclusive education at the grassroots. Master trainers are also trained for this purpose. PEF has also launched project of giving free education to children of brick-kiln workers and other low income families in Multan, Muzaffargarh and Lodhran.It is heartening that educational programs of this foundation are most cost effective, result oriented and efficient which have fully met the educational needs of the people. The performance of this foundation has been lauded both nationally as well as internationally. Weekly “The Economist” has written twice about the beneficial role of PEF in recent years.
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