LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Industries and Trade Mian Aslam Iqbal says 403 institutions of the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta) are being digitalised while courses of vocational education have also been upgraded on modern lines to meet the market needs.

Presiding over a meeting at Tevta Secretariat on Tuesday, he said under growth strategy of Punjab province, Tevta would achieve targets to train skilled labour force.

Mr Iqbal said various programmes had been devised, including the upgrade of Tevta labs, introduction of smart classrooms and training of trainers etc.

“The Hunarmand Naujawan programme and initiation of evening classes in Tevta institutions will be helpful to meet the desired targets.”

The minister said Tevta had made collaborations with New Talk, LUMS, Microsoft, Akhuwat and other institutions for promotion of technical and vocational education.

He said specialised training programmes were being started for training the differently-abled children adding that mobile application would also be introduced to make available the services of technical persons on the phone.

He said complete data of skilled persons and their employment details would be maintained for policy formulation.

Tevta Chairman Ali Salman Siddique briefed the participants on the future plans and policies.

WALK: An on-campus walk was held here at the Government College University (GCU) Lahore to raise awareness and eliminate social stigmas attached to the breast cancer.

GCU VC Prof Dr Hassan Amir Shah, Registrar Saboor Ahmad Khan, Quality Enhancement Director Iram Sohail and senior faculty members led the walk organised in collaboration with the Pink Ribbon Pakistan.

Iram Sohail said it’s very unfortunate talented female students who came from small towns to Lahore for education had very limited knowledge about their health-related issues.

“It’s considered a taboo for girls in these areas to talk about their health issues,” she concluded.

Vice Chancellor Prof Hassan Shah said the GCU had organised many health awareness events throughout the year to empower its students, especially female students, with the knowledge about their health issues and techniques to adopt an active and healthy lifestyle.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2019