Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) has emerged as the largest free education-provider in the province as 67 percent of its partner schools are situated in the south. Similarly, 69 percent of the student-beneficiaries belong to the southern part of the province. Due to it, great achievement has been made in eradicating illiteracy and ignorance in the far-flung and remote hinterlands, where it is quite difficult for the low-income families to arrange education for their children for want of resources.
Chairman PEF Engr. Qamar-ul-Islam Raja said this while addressing the first day of 3-Day District Coordination Meeting at Jinnah Auditorium, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan on Saturday. 1047 school partners from Bahawalpur, Lodhran, Rahim Yar Khan and Khanewal attended the meeting. He said that promotion of education in the low-income families is our priority agenda. It is important that our school partners are playing an important role in promotion of education in disfranchised sections of the societies; it is our sovereign commitment to help promote quality education in the partner schools through useful interventions. Efficient use of IT has also been made. He commended the fact that students have shown great interest in benefiting from PEF sponsored educational programmes as the total number of beneficiaries has surpassed two million. He observed that promotion of education should be treated as national agenda, and all segments of the society should supplement this program, so that all the children should be in schools by the year 2018.
MD PEF Tariq Mehmood said that different initiatives have been introduced to improve the educational standards of the partner schools. It has helped the students to study free of cost and excel in life with self-confidence and courage. He told that a comprehensive policy mechanism will be devised for up-gradation of partner schools having sufficient facilities and meeting the program criterion. It would help the students, including the girls, to continue their education, he added. He further said that governmental instructions with regard to adoption of anti-dengue measures and schools’ security should be implemented in letter and spirit. The meeting was also addressed by different programme directors.