LAHORE: The caretaker minister of education for Punjab, Mansoor Qadir, accompanied by School Education Secretary Faisal Fareed, made a visit to the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) head office today.
Upon their arrival, the managing director of PEF, Manzar Javed Ali, warmly welcomed the visitors.
During the visit, Ali provided a comprehensive overview of the “Shahr-i-ilm” project and other essential initiatives.
The project aims to open 336 new schools in approved Union Councils of Multan, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh, Rahimyar Khan, and Sheikhupura. The project will offer free education to approximately 89,000 underprivileged children under the Education Voucher Scheme (EVS).
Minister praised the project and suggested that schools should be established in slum areas of approved districts where no schools currently exist. The Public-Private Partnership model of PEF was also commended.
The secretary also commended the project, saying that it would greatly benefit underprivileged families. He added that project funds would be released to PEF soon to enable smooth project implementation.
Ali provided detailed explanations of the Foundation Assisted School (FAS) programme, Education Voucher Scheme (EVS), New School Programme (NSP), Cholistan Community School, Cholistan Mobile School, and Roshan Thal Project.
During the meeting, he also revealed that an additional 500,000 children could receive free education through PEF education projects with more funds.
At the end of the meeting, Ali presented the Minister of Education with the PEF Annual Work Plan booklet and provided details of the new SIS dashboard.
