ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said the government’s limited resources were one of the basic hurdles in promotion of talent and skills among children.
Inaugurating a Daanish School, he said the initiative aimed to provide quality education to talented students from underprivileged backgrounds and give them opportunities equal to those available to children from affluent families.
Daanish schools, originally introduced by the Punjab government, aim to provide quality education to marginalised and talented students. It is said to be the largest network of boarding schools for girls and boys in the country.
Speaking at the ceremony, the premier highlighted stories of Daanish School graduates, including a girl from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who overcame challenges and a woman from Bahawalpur who went on to become a doctor after losing her father in childhood.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this was a vision we had seen in Punjab when I was its servant. How come the sons of rich people enter the iron steel gates of Aitchison College; sons of prime ministers, governors, bureaucrats, judges, civil servants, military servants, landlords, mill owners, regardless of their acumen and their level of intelligence,” the PM said.
“And those millions of boys and girls, [who are] extremely intelligent, but come from the poorest of backgrounds in the four corners of Pakistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan cannot even imagine opening the gates of Aitchison College, let alone having the opportunity to receive a decent education,” he added.
According to the premier, this vision led his team to establish Daanish Schools back in 2010.
“[The] concept was introduced in Punjab, not only to match the quality and level of Aitchison College and other grammar schools all over Punjab and other parts of Pakistan, but to excel,” he asserted.
He added that every child deserved equal opportunities, whether they were the son or daughter of the richest man in Pakistan, the prime minister or anyone from the elite class, or a child who had lost both parents.
“If these children are left to waste their time in the muddy streets of their villages and cities, then this is not the Pakistan of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. This is certainly not his Pakistan,” he remarked. The prime minister noted that the richest people in the country, regardless of how they earned their wealth, had the opportunity to send their children to the best schools in Pakistan and even to North America and the south of France.
“Imagine the plight of children like this daughter from Bahawalpur, this daughter from KP, and this boy sitting before you, who also became a doctor.” A post by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said: “A new dawn of education and excellence is about to rise in the capital!”
Mr Sharif also interacted with multiple students at the campus. Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui also spoke on the occasion. The foundation of the school in the federal capital was laid in 2024 with 10 acres allocated by the Capital Development Authority.
In March, the school received over 7,000 applications against just 210 seats. The school’s board of governors had earlier this year approved a budget of Rs3.8 billion for the year 2026-27.
Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2026
