PESHAWAR, March 31: Provincial Education Minister Maulana Fazl-e-Ali is leaving on a 15-day study tour of the United Kingdom today. He is expected to visit various educational institutions to assess their structure and system of education.

Talking to newsmen here at his office, the minister said, he would also meet a number of delegations at Manchester and London to discuss with them measures necessary to promote education.

He said he would call on the department for international development (DFID) to seek their assistance and cooperation to raise funding for the education sector of the NWFP. He said he expects to generate Rs20 million funding for the development of education from DFID.

The minister said new education policy is expected to be announced in the next three to four months and added that a number of targets towards this end have been achieved during recently held three-day workshop on “education policy and strategy”.

Similar workshops would be held in other parts of the province shortly before finalizing the education policy, he said.

To a question, he said, positive and constructive changes in the syllabus are on the cards in order to make it reflective of modern education system.

Mr Ali said the government was concentrating on promoting computer education in schools and added that computers would be provided to 250 schools in the province in the initial stage.

About proposals made by the Nifaz-e-Shariat Council to Islamize the educational system, he said, the council has proposed teaching of Arabic subject as compulsory up to matric level.—APP