LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said the implementation of the Punjab School Reforms Roadmap has substantially improved the education sector in the province.

The chief minister said this while presiding over a meeting to review the Punjab School Reforms Roadmap here on Friday. International educationist Sir Michael Barber gave a detailed briefing on the Punjab School Reforms Roadmap, says a handout.

The chief minister said the target of enrolment of four million children in schools would be achieved by October.

Mr Shahbaz said the Punjab government was spending billions of rupees for the promotion of quality education in the province, adding that 140,000 teachers had been recruited on merit in the province last year.

He said funds had already been provided for improving educational facilities in public sector schools while the process would continue in future as well.

He said there was a need for capacity-building of the staff concerned and effective planning for proper and timely utilization of resources.

He said the data collection process was being digitalized for making school reforms programme more effective, adding that work on the project of digital monitoring for data collection be further accelerated.

The chief minister said that billions of rupees were being provided to ensure missing facilities in schools while the ratio of teachers in schools was being rationalized with the number of students.

Mr Shahbaz said special attention should be paid to improve grade level of boy and girl students and issued instructions for constituting a committee for formulating recommendations for improving grade level of students and recruitment of quality teachers and submitting committee’s proposals within a week.

He said immediate measures should be taken for the installation of solar panels for the supply of electricity to schools in far-flung areas of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur.

He expressed his indignation over a delay in some matters pertaining to the Punjab School Reforms Roadmap and warned that laxity in its implementation would not be tolerated.

Sir Michael Barber and the country head of British Department for International Development (DFID), Richard Montgomery, said the education sector in Punjab had considerably developed and the credit for this went to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his entire team.

Provincial Minister for Education Rana Mashhood Ahmed, the P&D chairman, secretary schools, secretary finance, Punjab Education Endowment Fund vice-chairman, DFID and World Bank authorities also attended the meeting.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2014