RAWALPINDI, Oct 22: A top-level meeting on Saturday decided to commit at least four per cent of the GDP to the education sector from next fiscal year and start tent schools in the quake-affected areas of NWFP and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
President Gen Pervez Musharraf presided over the meeting. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was also present.
A team of the federal education ministry in collaboration with Unicef and some non-governmental organizations is to submit a report on requirements early next week for resumption of educational activities in the quake-hit areas.
“The report will take into account all aspects for rebuilding the edifice of education system in these areas,” Education Minister Javed Ashraf Qazi told APP.
The federal government, responding to the request of the AJK and NWFP governments, will provide large tents, capable of housing about 40 students each.
The tent schools will be provided textbooks, stationary and other education material.
In his remarks, the president said education provides a strong foundation for long-term progress and the country must strive for attaining higher quality education.
He called for bringing the standard of examination in all boards at par so that students did not face problems at the time of admission. In this context he said, consideration might be given to reducing their number.
President Musharraf endorsed the government’s principled decision to introduce English as a compulsory subject from
Class I.
The meeting also decided to step up implementation of the president’s education reforms initiatives, with the federal education ministry monitoring the overall progress in coordination with provincial chapters.
The meeting decided that higher secondary education would be dealt by provinces instead of districts. —APP
