LAHORE, Sept 10: The Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) is planning to set up as many as 80 schools under Phase-III of New School Programme (NSP) in 12 districts of the province.

These schools are being established to provide educational facilities to poor students near their homes. The establishment of these schools will also help reduce drop-out ratio and alleviate poverty.

The NSP has been proved beneficial, especially for girls, who cannot go far away from their homes to attend any school.

PEF chairman Raja Muhammad Anwar, who is also chairman of the Chief Minister’s Taskforce on Elementary Education, said this while presiding over a meeting to evaluate the pace of development of NSP in promoting education in the poor strata of society on Friday. He stressed that every effort should be made to attain cent per cent literacy in the country.

NSP project officer Hassan Javed informed the participants that in Phase-III, 10 schools would be set up each in Khaniwal and Bhakkar districts; nine in Sargodha; eight in Vehari, seven each in Rahim Yar Khan and Toba Tek Singh, five schools each in Lodhran, Layyah, Mianwali and Khushab, five in Narowal and four schools would be set up in Attock district.

He said that poor and semi-urban areas, where public or private sector infrastructure was not available, would be given priority for setting up new schools in these districts.

PEF managing-director Mohyuddin Wani, his deputy Tanvir A. Zaffar and other officials attended the meeting.

pursuit of knowledge: Punjab University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran has urged the Muslim world to commit itself to the pursuit of knowledge and education because no nation can survive or hope to lead an honourable and dignified life in this fast changing world without education.

The vice-chancellor has offered his heartiest greetings to varsity teachers, students and employees on the festive day of Eid-ul-Fitr. He said the educational backwardness was not only the root cause of mental and material backwardness but also responsible for all problems and ills the Muslim world was plagued with today.

In the past, he said, there had been great Muslim researchers, inventors, thinkers and creators of new knowledge and resultantly the Muslims played a leadership role in the world. He said it was obligatory on the well-to-do and more privileged people to share their happiness and fortune with the flood-stricken people who lost all their belongings to devastating floods.

“We should display real Islamic spirit by rendering maximum relief services to the flood victims. It was a matter of great satisfaction that Punjab University teachers and volunteer students had already distributed dry ration worth of Rs10 million to flood affected people of Rajanpur and Muzaffargarh districts,” he said.