- 35,600 students to undergo medical, dental, and eye exams under new initiative: chief minister briefed
- 5,000 new special students enrolled through door-to-door admission campaign
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has launched a series of landmark initiatives for the welfare of special children, directing the authorities concerned to introduce the province’s first-ever comprehensive health screening program for students enrolled in special education centers.
Under the new initiative, more than 35,600 special children across Punjab will undergo complete health checkups, including eye testing, dental examination, and screening for other diseases, while on-the-spot treatment will be provided to around 20,000 students. Officials briefed the Chief Minister that over 9,000 students requiring specialized care will be referred to health centers, tehsil and district headquarters hospitals, and another 5,000 students will be treated at major hospitals in big cities.
CM Maryam Nawaz, who termed special children “an integral part of Punjab’s future,” said the government was committed to providing them with equal access to healthcare, education, and digital empowerment.
Officials also informed the Chief Minister that the door-to-door admission campaign for special students had been highly successful, enrolling over 5,000 new students across the province.
As part of the Punjab CM Freelancer Program, specialized IT courses in design, YouTube content creation, social media, and e-commerce have been launched in special education centers. Ten state-of-the-art computer labs have been approved, while eight existing labs are being upgraded on modern lines. So far, 18 master trainers and 1,760 students have completed training, and the top 50 performers will receive laptops.
In another major development, the Chief Minister was briefed on the installation of a province-wide surveillance system to ensure the safety and behavioral monitoring of special children. In Phase-I, 989 cameras are being installed in 142 special education centers across Lahore, Gujranwala, Multan, and DG Khan divisions. In Phase-II, 158 more institutions in Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, and Sahiwal will be equipped with cameras, bringing the total to 4,381 cameras by May next year.
The surveillance network will be linked to a central monitoring room in Lahore, enabling real-time oversight and use of footage for behavioral analysis and therapy improvement. Officials confirmed that 3,450 cameras will be functional by November 2025.
