SWABI, Feb 23: The NWFP government has allocated an amount of Rs137.8 million from the Zakat fund to impart technical education to the poor and needy students.

Sources in the Zakat department told Dawn that the department had drafted a new Zakat policy for the needy students on the instructions of the provincial government.

They said it had been decided that funds would be provided to poor students to acquire technical education in view of the fact that students imparted with technical education did not look for jobs in the public sector like unskilled educated youths.

They said diploma courses in refrigeration and airconditioning, automobile, electronics and information technology would be offered to the students.

The new policy, the sources added, was aimed at producing skilled people who would not only be able to stand on their own feet to earn their livelihood but would also be able to create job opportunities for other people by setting up businesses.

The sources said that technical education would be given to those students who had passed secondary school certificate examination.

They said in each district the Zakat department officials would invite applications from the poor students in the next month.

The selection of the students would be made on merit and for their identification each district Zakat office would constitute committees, the sources said.

In each district, the Zakat department officials would discuss various aspects of this policy with the heads of the technical institutions and than a plan would be drafted under which the students would get financial assistance.

The sources said according to the strategy prepared more then 500 students would get benefit under the new Zakat policy.

However, they said, in the densely-populated districts like Peshawar more students would be accorded financial assistance.

In the financial support, course books and exercise books, clothes, uniform, hostel dues and transport expenditures would be included, the sources added.