February 28, 2003	Friday	Zul Hijjah 26, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 27: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali announced here on Thursday Rs2 billion grant for the Education Sector Reform (ESR) programme during 2002-03.

He said Rs2 billion new funding would be offered by having re-appropriation of the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

He issued a directive that at least three per cent of the Gross National Product (GNP) should be allocated for the education sector during the next financial year. It was agreed that no education-specific tax should be collected from students/families and educational institutions.

“Education is the responsibility of the government and the government is committed to providing best quality education to all, including girls,” the prime minister said after a presentation made by Minister for Education Zobaida Jalal on the ESR.

According to an official announcement, Mr Jamali also said that education sector reform would be sustained over the years and the government would ensure necessary financing to provinces, district governments and the federal areas to bridge the resource gap.

The presentation was given by Ms Jalal and the meeting was attended by education ministers of the four provinces and the AJK, secretary of education, provincial education secretaries, and senior officers concerned of the federal government.

“To meet the national challenge of providing education to all, the private sector should be encouraged to share the responsibility of the government in an appropriate manner,” he said.

The prime minister took note of the approved incentive package for all private sector educational institutions and said the package must be implemented in letter and in spirit to make private sector education cost lower and accessible to all people.

It was agreed by provinces that the deregulation of textbooks shall be implemented uniformly across the country. He encouraged adoption of a consultative process to expedite deregulation to improve quality of learning opportunities for children and youth of Pakistan.

The prime minister directed the Ministry of Education to focus on coordination, facilitation and financial mobilisation for education reform in the country. He endorsed the ESR programme, promising strong support for continuity in policy, planning and implementation of ESR programme.

He held out an assurance that legislators would be encouraged to allocate a reasonable share of their development funds to all educational development schemes under the ESR in their areas.

The prime minister stressed that the public sector educational institutions must act as service delivery outposts and necessary safeguards must be in place for the top quality education.