PESHAWAR, May 18: NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has said that promoting quality education is the key feature of his government’s policy. “The provincial government wants everyone to have easy access to education, and for this reason it has increased the education budget by almost 100 per cent,” he said.

The chief minister was talking to Unicef’s regional director Ms Cecilia Lotse at the Frontier House here on Wednesday.

The UN agency’s regional head promised more engagements in the education sector development in the future as well.

She praised the Durrani-led government for supporting the Unicef programmes in education and health, particularly the anti-polio campaign in the province.

The chief minister said the existing educational infrastructure and academic institutions got overburdened because of overwhelming enrolment.

He said that his commitment to education and the government’s steps in this regard were fitting answers to critics “doubting every sincere step of my government”.

He said the NWFP government made education free up to Matric, provided books to students, upgraded schools on a large scale, constructed new school buildings and sanctioned posts of teachers for all educational institutions throughout the province. He reckoned these steps as “unprecedented”.

He said his government was providing additional resources for the spread of education without compromising its quality. The emphasis was on female literacy, he added.

A women’s university has been established and post-graduate classes in various girls degree colleges have been initiated, he said, adding that the government believed that educated women could take better care of the young generation. This, he said, would have a positive impact on the family system and society as a whole.

He said before the MMA government came to power, there were districts where there were no educational institutions. Therefore, the NWFP government relaxed rules and conditions to recruit local teachers so that they could serve their people.

He referred to his government’s plan of ‘Education for all’ to educate those who could not get it before. Under the programme, 20000 unemployed graduates would get employment.

He appreciated Unicef’s help for books’ supply which the provincial government provided free of cost to educational institutions. He said that feeder schools would be set up in districts.

The chief minister said that English-medium schools were being set up at regional level so that everyone could get education of his choice.

He said the government had already approved English-medium schools for Bannu, Dera, Swabi and Malakand.

He said health was another priority area which needed donors’ help.

In order to eliminate corporal punishment in schools, teachers must change their attitude and get proper training, he said.

He has ordered an inquiry into a reported incident of corporal punishment in the Mandani area of district Charsadda.