LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz has announced introducing school van/bus service and on-wheel Montessori school in the province.
She presided over a special meeting of the School Education Department on 09-July-2025 in which outsourced schools, school meal programme and other projects were reviewed.
In the meeting, it was decided to give “School of the Month” award for the first time on the basis of discipline, classroom, lab and quality of education and “Teacher of
the Month” award for best performance. The CM ordered to take steps with regard to launching ‘On-Wheel Montessori School’ project. The meeting also decided to introduce school van/bus service in government schools for the first time across Punjab.
She sought a comprehensive plan for the first regular school bus service. Provincial Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat gave a detailed briefing to the participants regarding the School Education Department.
The meeting was told that excellent results were being achieved in outsourcing schools in Punjab. Student enrolment has increased by 99 percent and the number of teachers by 114 percent. Avenues of decent employment opportunities for more than 60,000 have opened for educated youth. It was informed in the meeting that the Punjab School Education Department has set a record for the world’s largest successful public-private partnership. Outsourcing government schools has increased enrolment by 1.3 million in just 16 months. Another 10,500 schools will be outsourced in a year.
CM Maryam Nawaz started a successful pilot project of the Punjab Education Endowment Fund (PEEF) and Education Tech Schools. She ordered to launch Education Tech Schools in villages as well. The pilot project for English conversation is ongoing successfully. Under the programme, three lakh children will gain proficiency in English conversation under IELTS Standard-4 in 6 months. Ten thousand classrooms have been prepared for Early Childhood Education in every district of Punjab.
The CM directed to increase the number of children in the Nawaz Sharif Centre of Excellence from 240 to 1,500. The meeting agreed to start school meal programme in the districts of Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Lodhran, Bhakkar, Mianwali and Bahawalnagar.
CM Maryam ordered to build 6,000 science, technology, engineering, mathematics and other labs across Punjab. Separately, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said the personality of Fatima Jinnah is a symbol of courage, character and dignity for women of Pakistan.
She paid glowing tribute to the Mother of the Nation, Fatima Jinnah, on her 58th death anniversary. She lauded that Fatima Jinnah was a great leader of the freedom struggle of Pakistan.
Published in News Daily on 10 July 2025.
