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LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz has restored the laptop scheme for students after seven years in a meeting regarding reforms in the higher education sector.
The Punjab chief minister was apprised of the problems of higher education and it was agreed to build new universities and colleges on a priority basis in the backward districts of the province.
On this occasion, Maryam Nawaz said that international standard universities in every district and colleges at the tehsil level are among the goals of her government.
He welcomed PM Shehbaz Sharif’s declaration of an ‘educational emergency’ across the country and said there was a need for a complete overhaul of education in schools and higher institutions.
He further said that the Punjab government is going to invest in the development of the knowledge economy and IT education. On this occasion, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also announced that her government will give 20,000 motorcycles to students across Punjab.
In the meeting, the chief minister was given a detailed briefing regarding the promotion of higher education, laptops and transport facilities for students. He was told in the briefing that the budget for higher education was high during the previous government of Pakistan Muslim League (N).
In the briefing, the chief minister was informed that more than 65,000 students are studying in private and public universities in Punjab. Among the students studying in the universities, the ratio of boys is 44 percent and the ratio of girls is 56 percent.
Senior Provincial Minister Maryam Aurangzeb, Provincial Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat, Information Minister Uzma Zahid Bukhari, Chief Secretary, Secretary of Higher Education, and other officials participated in the meeting.