LAHORE, Dec 12: The German government will provide a grant of 30 million euro for the promotion of basic education in the Punjab. This was stated by Dr Rainer Goerdeler , German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development's director for Asia, south eastern Europe and Afghanistan, during a meeting with Punjab Education Minister Imran Masood here on Sunday.

German Agency for Technical Cooperation country director Dr Ingolf Vereno also attended the meeting. Mr Goerdeler, heading a delegation currently visiting Pakistan, said the grant would be for the uplift of primary schools and teachers training programme.

He said the education reforms programme, launched by Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi, had been a practical step towards the enhancement of literacy rate. The German government was interested in helping Pakistan in poverty alleviation programme.

The German financial assistance programme was focused on development cooperation concentrated on addressing the issue of widespread poverty in the rural areas. The priority areas included basic education and health, family planning, HIV or AIDS, renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Imran Masood said the Punjab government was sharing the experience of Germany in the field of education. The Punjab had adopted the role model of Germany while formulating vocational education and training policy which had been very helpful for preparing skilled manpower for industrial units.