MARDAN: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led coalition government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been taking measures to strengthen national institutions and make the government officials accountable to public, said Mohammad Atif Khan, provincial minister for elementary and secondary education, here on Thursday.

He was talking to mediapersons after handing over a cheque for Rs10 million as endowment fund to the cabinet of Mardan Press Club for the welfare of its members. PTI MPAs Iftikhar Mashwani, Zahid Durani and Ubaid Mayar were also present on this occasion besides a number of district and tehsil councillors.

The minister claimed that the provincial government’s reforms in the police and revenue departments had been proving helpful in resolving people’s issues effectively.

Minister says govt spending Rs500m on schools in Mardan

He claimed that the incidence of absence of teachers in schools had dropped to almost zero owing to the introduction of an effective monitoring system by the government in educational institutions across the province. He said that the government had reopened 231 schools that were lying closed for several years without any reason. He alleged that the previous rulers had ignored the education sector.

“We have also been spending Rs500 million on the establishment of new school buildings and uplift and provision of basic facilities in some established educational institutions across Mardan district,” he claimed.

Atif Khan said that the government had also planned to construct parks in the district, including Sheikh Maltoon town park, Gujargari park and a family park at the land of old jail area. He said that a water park in the Ameer Mohammad Khan Park would also be built soon.

He said that Rs2 billion had also been approved by the provincial government for the establishment of Institute of Neurosurgery and Neurology in the district.

The education minister said that establishment of Women’s University had been approved in Mardan and classes would be started within next few months. He claimed that the computerisation of land would be fully functional by January after which residents of the district would get rid of exploitation by revenue officials.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2015