LAHORE, Aug 13: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi on Sunday said the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) would provide free text books to students of private schools having meagre resources.

Professional training of teachers of such schools too was being ensured, he said while presiding over a briefing regarding the PEF affairs here at his secretariat.

Punjab Education Minister Mian Imran Masood, chief secretary Salman Siddique and other senior officials concerned attended the meeting.

The chief minister said in pursuance of the government’s policy to promote quality education through public-private partnership, the PEF was providing financial assistance to private schools having less resources, and providing training opportunities to their teachers. At present, 70,000 students of private schools having less resources were benefiting from the PEF’s financial assistance scheme in 10 districts in the province.

He said the PEF was paying Rs300 monthly fee of every student of selected private schools in Lahore, Chakwal, Khushab, Sialkot and Bahawalpur. In the second phase, the programme had been extended to Bahawalnagar, Gujrat, Narowal, Bhakkar and Mianwali so as to benefit a maximum number of students.

The chief minister said so far the foundation had provided modern training to thousands of teachers of 1,800 private schools. The scope of teachers training under public-private partnership would further be expanded.

The PEF was constituted in 2004 and its board of directors included eminent people who had won laurels in the field of education.

The meeting was informed that the PEF used to select private schools for financial assistance on the basis of their location, physical infrastructure, educational facilities and quality assurance tests. Permission to advance the assistance was given by the board.

Imran Masood said coordinated efforts were being made to also enhance the standard of education in private schools in accordance with the vision of the chief minister. The effort had ultimately strengthened the education sector in the province.

PEF chairman Shahid Hafiz Kardar said teachers of the private schools were being trained under the cluster-based training programme.

The foundation would soon launch an education voucher scheme through which poor students would be given full financial assistance in private schools.

He said the PEF education programme was being greatly appreciated by the people.

PEF managing-director Dr Allah Bux Malik dilated upon the administrative structure of the body and its role in the promotion of education in the province. —Staff Reporter