via Daily Times
The Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Pervez Khattak has said with regard to party's commitment towards the children of KP, they are committed to allocate and provide Rs 139 billion to Education for the upcoming financial year 2017-18.Addressing a function on 'Reforming Education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Accomplishments, Challenges and Looking Ahead' he said that this is in line with the Education Sector Reform Program budget allocation for which had already been increased 128 per cent since the formation of PTI led government in the Province.
He pointed out that budget allocation in KP was highest among all the four provinces of Pakistan in terms of percentage of allocation.
The function was also addressed by PTI Chairman Imran Khan, education Minister Atif Khan, secretary education, Deputy High Commissioner Australian Embassy in Islamabad and representative of European Union and DFID besides others.
Expressing satisfaction over steadily moving towards the goals set under the KP Education Sector Plan (ESP) the Chief Minister said that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa gave them the mandate to serve them in 2013 but there were multiple issues which plagued KP at that time. He pointed out that terrorism was on the rise, there were massive amounts of IDP's, natural disasters had damaged infrastructure, and basic services delivery was very weak.
Most importantly, people had lost faith in the public sector and its capacity to deliver social services. Basic necessities like healthcare, law enforcement, and education services were not being provided in the best possible manner. However, PTI led change was driven by the needs of the people and aimed at ensuring social justice.
To bring peace, access to justice, quality health services, and above all provision of quality education to all the children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, they took pride for their ability to deliver what they promised.
Hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are now geared towards delivering quality health services. Khattak said that by reforming the police department, they have been able to eradicate a deep seated fear of the police. The police department has now become a symbol of safety and security. Similarly, they proudly claim that education reforms that are the core of their agenda and have had a significant impact are on track and destined to change the education system of KP for the better in coming times.
The Chief Minister said that they have been able to restore the confidence of masses in the public education sector. This is evident from the fact that parents of more than 35,000 students have shifted their children from private to public-sector schools in KP. This testifies that the reforms by our government are relevant and responsive to the needs of the people. By the time the Education Sector Plan (ESP) is complete public sector schools will be the first choice for parents in KP he said.
He said that his government of KP is addressing the educational challenge in a very comprehensive manner and are on way to make our schools at par with the international standards. They are committed to providing every student in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with an excellent learning environment. It is ensured that schools are provided with missing facilities such as toilets, electricity and drinking water. "I guarantee that in a short time there will not be a single child sitting in the class room without having a desk and a chair" Pervez Khattak announced.
With regard to quality of education, he said that they were committed to provide the best quality teachers to the children. Most importantly, they have started merit based recruitments in the province. Recently 40, 000 competent teachers have been added to the system.
While 83,000 teachers are being trained on how to effectively teach English and are revising current textbooks to bring them to par with international standards. The text books up-till the 5th standard have already been revised while Universal Assessment of grade 5 has been launched it will also be introduced at the middles, secondary and higher secondary levels shortly.
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