SIALKOT, Nov 15: As many as 5,000 children working in surgical vendors’ workshops in various parts of the district will be imparted education under the `Punjab Chief Minister’s Parha Likha Programme.’

Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool will formally launch the programme in January 2008 under which child labourers will be imparted education for financial stability of their families.

This was stated by Surgical Instruments Manufacturers Association (SIMA) chairman Aamir Riaz Bhinder while talking to newsmen at his office here on Thursday.

He said the International Labour Organisation had already declared surgical export houses in Sialkot child labour free.

During Child Labour Elimination Programme launched in active collaboration with SIMA, Bhinder said, the ILO identified 5,000 children working at surgical vendors’ workshops.

Under the programme, he said 58 non-formal education centres had been established in the district.

He said the ILO and SIMA would soon sign an agreement for initiating the phase-III of the Time Bound Programme (TBP) for eliminating child labour from surgical vendors’ workshops. He said the agreement would be implemented from January 2008.

He said these 5,000 children would be imparted education under the `Parha Likha Programme’ while the provincial government would also give special stipends to them for financial stability of their families.

Meanwhile, a meeting of all stakeholders of Surgical Industry Child Labour Elimination Programme was held at SIMA on Thursday. The meeting discussed in detail child labour issues.

SIMA chairman Aamir Riaz Bhinder, ILO representative in Sialkot Taseer Ali Zai, EDO (community development) Dr Javaid Gill and EDOs of other departments attended the meeting.