TAXILA: As many as 49 students from different underdeveloped and less privileged areas have completed their two-month training at Cadet College Hasanabdal which enabled them to get enrolled at cadet and military colleges of the country.

The students selected under Cadet College Hasanabdal Outreach Programme include 12 from Balochistan, 24 from northern areas, six from erstwhile Fata, four from Azad Kashmir and three from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The graduation ceremony of second batch of the programme was held at the Cadet College on Thursday.

Caretaker Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Prof. Mohammad Yusuf Shaikh was the chief guest at the ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion, he lauded the outreach programme for the students of remotest and most underdeveloped regions of the country.

He said the programme would encourage the students to appear in entry tests of not only military colleges but also other cadet colleges of Pakistan, so that they could join the mainstream national institutions and look ahead to a bright future.

“It will have a huge impact on their families as well. It is a much appreciated step for national integration,” the minister said.

Speaking at the ceremony, Principal Cadet College retired Major General Najeeb Tariq said since last many years, not a single student from Balochistan and Gilgit had passed the entry test which alarmed the administration as it might create a sense of deprivation among the youth of these areas.

He said keeping in view the situation an old Abdalian had given necessary funds and first pilot project of outreach programme was launched.

He said that in this connection, the administration of the Cadet College selected 49 youths through proper screening under the outreach programme.

He added that the boys went through miscellaneous activities including studies, sports and recreational trips during summer vacations.

The college has started “Cadet College Hasanabdal Outreach Program” this summer to improve the selection of boys between age group of 12 to 14 years for capacity building, personality grooming and necessary counseling for these youth to prepare them for passing the entrance examination for the cadet and military colleges of the country.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2018