School Education System Being Upgraded Continuously: Mashhood

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Augst,2016) ovincial Minister for Education, Youth Affairs, Sports, Tourism and Archaeology, Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan said on Monday that the Punjab government was continuously upgrading school education system and south Punjab was a priority area in this regard. Addressing the first regional conference on 'Inclusion of Entrepreneurship at Schools in southern Punjab' at Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Regional Office, the minister said that the government increased per month stipend for enrolled girls to Rs 1,000 from Rs 200 in 2008 in an effort to increase the number of school going girls in southern Punjab. The minister informed the conference that sports Endowment Fund worth Rs 1.5 billion would soon be announced like the Education Endowment Fund. On this occasion, FPCCI Regional Chairman and Vice President Mian Rehman Aziz said that there was dire need for a strong educational policy, planning and implementation, establishment of research centres, IT centres and fully equipped laboratories.

He also stressed industry-academia linkages as the need of the hour. Security of schools should be ensured, he added. About unemployment in southern Punjab, he said that excess of 70 per cent unemployment indicated the declining trend in traditional job opportunities for tertiary education graduates.

He stressed that the education system must contribute towards creation and development of entrepreneurs and collaboration of youth development programme for promotion of self-employment culture and entrepreneurial ventures. SAARC Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Vice President Ifthikhar Ali Malik said that women were an integral part of society and could produce matching results in every sector of a business.

The FPCCI had always remained in touch with businesswomen to provide a platform to safeguard their interests, he added. Rana Mashhood appreciated the idea of inclusion of entrepreneurship at schools in southern Punjab, floated by Mrs Razia Shah, president of Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Multan division, and an executive committee member of the Multan Chamber.

The minister said that the Punjab government would soon starts a pilot project in this regard. Member Executive Committee of Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry Multan Division Mrs Masooma Subtain and a large number of businesswomen attended the conference. In the end, the FPCCI regional chairman presented federation's crest to Minister Rana Mashhood Khan.