LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif addressed the inauguration ceremony of the first Danish school in Rahim Yar Khan on Thursday.PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif, Senior Advisor Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa, ambassadors and representatives of Saudi Arabia, Argentine, Brunei, Iran, Sweden, Australia and Britain, senior officials of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UNICEF, Department For International Development, United States Agency for International Development, Staff and Educational Development Association, provincial ministers, assembly members, prominent educationists and journalists as well as a large number of notables of the area were present on the occasion.The CM said that the common man has as much right over national resources as the elite. He said that a separate country was created by the Muslims of the subcontinent under the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah so that equal opportunities of progress could be available to all citizens. He said the establishment of Danish schools in the province was based on the same philosophy that the poorest of the poor students of backward areas of the province should have the same educational facilities as are available to the elite.
He said, “Today is a red letter day in the history of the country as the first Danish school is being inaugurated in Rahim Yar Khan.” He said that Danish schools will help promote quality education throughout the province and the students of these schools will play their due role for national development and prosperity.The CM said that education was essential for rapid development and had revolutionary measures for the promotion of education been taken earlier, Pakistan would have joined the rank of developed nations. He said that during his period of exile he often pondered why despite availability of resources, brainpower and a talented workforce, Pakistan lagged behind other countries and the only answer he could find for this situation was the failure to modernise the education sector and equip the young generation with the latest education. He said that education was the only key to success and in view of this fact, the Punjab government was now attaching top priority to the uplift of this sector and had taken unprecedented measures for this purpose.
He said that the foundation of a revolution had been laid in the education sector by inaugurating the first Danish school in the 63-year history of the country. He said that all citizens have equal right to education, but there was a monopoly of the elite over the prestigious educational institutions of the country and millions of children of marginalised segments of society could not even think of enrolling in these institutions. He said that 75 percent children of middle and lower middle class families of the country were studying at such private and public schools which were deprived of such basic facilities as teachers, water and electricity. He said that the young generation was the future of the country and the provision of education, health and other basic facilities to the youth was the collective responsibility of society and only then Pakistan’s future would be safe. He said that there were a number of talented and brilliant youth in the backward and far-flung areas and Danish schools will play an effective role in polishing their talent and capabilities – Dailytimes
