LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Punjab President Ejaz Chaudhry says the Pakistan Education Statistics Report of 2013-14 has exposed Punjab government’s education policy as Punjab has 2.9 million out-of-school children in the country.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Mr Chaudhry said the only thing Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was doing for out-of-school children in Punjab was self-projection in advertisements in the name of child education.

Stating that on-ground situation was alarming, he said the negligence and apathy shown by Mr Sharif in providing this basic right to children would have disastrous consequences in the near future. He said metro buses, metro trains and highways would do nothing for nation building but Mr Sharif loved to spend on money multi-billion projects. With such misplaced priorities, this outcome was inevitable, he added.

PTI Punjab General-Secretary Dr Yasmin Rashid said these figures were not a surprise for her as Khadam-i-Aala could spend billions on construction projects but would never invest in the future of the nation. She said the ruling elite was doing a better job than the enemies of Pakistan by keeping the children illiterate. She said it was all about the priorities and the will of the political leadership where to spend the resources.

Dr Rashid said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had transformed the education system in the province in 18 months but the Sharif family had been in power for the last 30 years and yet Punjab had the highest number of out-of-school children.

PTI Punjab Information Secretary Andleeb Abbas said the picture of illiteracy in Pakistan was grim as Pakistan ranked the second with the most out-of-school children in the world with only Nigeria ahead of it. She said education was not only a basic human right under the constitution of Pakistan but it was also incumbent on all Muslims to acquire knowledge. She said illiteracy was the main factor contributing to extremism.

“Khadam-i-Aala is least interested to educate the people of his province as he does not want to make people educated enough to see through their farce,” she added.

Ms Abbas suggested that Mr Sharif take a leaf out of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa education policy and see how it emerged as a province with the least number of out-of-school children among the four provinces.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2015

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