MIANWALI: The Punjab government will provide a special grant of Rs28.83 billion to improve the standard of education in the district, says School Education Punjab Secretary Muhammad Mahmood Ahmed.

The secretary promised the package at a meeting attended by the deputy commissioner and officials of the Mianwali education department on Thursday.

These funds will be utilised on provision of facilities and meeting other requirements in the state-run schools.

He said at the moment the district had a shortage of 290 teachers and the seats would be filled through the Punjab Public Service Commission. He said 14 higher secondary schools of the district would be made model schools by providing IT and science laboratories, libraries and other facilities.

The extra classrooms to be constructed in 1,026 schools of the district would cost Rs5.50 million.

A survey of missing facilities in the schools would be carried out by an independent third party in the first week of September in 14 proposed model schools. The survey of the missing facilities in all other schools would also be completed during September, he said.

He said the recruitment and development projects would be finalised in the current financial year. Competent teachers and heads of the institution would be hired to raise the teaching standards, he added.

He said a programme ‘Insaf afternoon school’ had been launched in 22 districts of Punjab and 27 schools had been made functional under the initiative. He said the Cadet College, Esakhel, principal had been appointed and efforts were made to make it an exemplary cadet college of the country. For this purpose, he said, Rs198.35 million had been allocated in the ADP. The amount would be spent on water supply, construction of hostel, admin block and class rooms.

During the current year, he said, Rs30 million had been released for the cadet college to meet the urgent needs.

Later, he visited a Daanish school and inspected hostels, mess and other facilities.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2019