LAHORE: Chinese Consul General Zhao Shiren on 17th July announced the sponsorship of uniform, shoes, school bags and stationery for 1,300 newly enrolled children in south Punjab.
He was addressing the ‘Zero Out-of-School Children’ campaign as the chief guest in Multan.
The event began with a guard of honour by Scouts, followed by a lively performance by schoolgirls waving Pakistani and Chinese flags to the beat of drums.
Mr Shiren expressed full support for the campaign to bring every child into school and pledged continued cooperation for the region’s uplift.
Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab Fuad Hashim Rabbani said the campaign was launched to increase literacy rates. According to him, a pilot project was initiated in four Union Councils each of Multan, Bahawalpur, and Layyah, yielding remarkable results. Subsequently, the program was expanded across all UCs of District Layyah, leading to the enrollment of 5,000 out-of-school children. Not a single rupee of government funding was used, educational kits were provided entirely through private sponsorships.
Mr Rabbani revealed that 4.7 million children aged 9–15 in South Punjab were still out of school and reiterated the commitment to enrolling every single one of them.
The additional chief secretary presented a Multani Ajrak and a shield to the consul general.
Later, the consul general visited the Nishtar Hospital-II and inspected the trauma center, medical emergency, orthopedics, radiology, and blood bank facilities. Medical Superintendent Dr Mazhar Abbas briefed him on the hospital.
Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2025
