He said that PML-N government is striving for the education and training of the girls and providing them laptops so as to bring them forward in the practical field but it is lamentable that some circles are engaged in efforts for abolishment of the reserved seats for the women in assemblies which tantamount to depriving 52 percent population of the country of its rights.
He said that girls have won three times more laptops than the boys which is a proof of their talent. In view of this, he said, women should be provided more job opportunities in banks, educational institutions and other departments. He was addressing laptops distribution ceremony among boys and girls students, internship letters to graduates, green tractors and laser levellers to farmers and wheelchairs among disabled persons at Jinnah Stadium Gujranwala on Wednesday.
Veteran Muslim League leader Ghulam Dastagir Khan, Assembly members from Gujranwala, Engineer Khurram Dastagir, Barrister Usman Ibrahim, Rana Nazir Ahmed Khan, Mahmood Bashir Virk, Saeed Mughal, Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal, Khalid Pervaiz Virk, Irfan Bashir Gujjar, Imran Khan Butt, local PML-N leaders and a large number of people were present on the occasion.
Addressing the function, Shahbaz said that Punjab government has taken revolutionary steps for the development of education sector during the last five years which has enabled the youth to utilize their energies and play their role for national progress and development.
He said that educational scholarships, internship and laptops are being distributed on merit throughout the province. He said that students are facing serious difficulties due to load shedding while the patients face agonising situation in the hospitals due to power outages.
He said that distribution of solar lamps among students at a cost of four billion rupees will be started during the current month to enable them continue their studies. He said that while the government is providing laptops and other facilities to the youth, it has also set up Punjab Educational Endowment Fund with an amount of Rs 10 billion and as many as 40 thousand poor but talented students are benefiting from this Fund.
The Chief Minister said that the project of training of 50 thousand fresh graduates at various institutions have been started under internship programme with a sum of Rs 4.40 billion throughout the province and a monthly stipend of Rs 10 thousand each will be given to the internees.
He said that five thousand students of Gujranwala division have been included in the internship scheme. Shahbaz Sharif said that PML-N government has spent a sum of Rs 38 billion on development schemes in Gujranwala division, out of which, a number of projects have been inaugurated.
He said that out of this huge sum, Rs 11 billion have been utilised on the buildings of Health and Education Departments. He said that Punjab government has set up IT labs in more than four thousand schools. He said that service to the people is the pivot of the politics of PML-N and it will continue to discharge its responsibilities.
He said that tractors and laser levellers are being distributed among the farmers at concessionary rates while billions of rupees are being utilised on the improvement of education sector. He said that every effort will be made to transform the country into an Islamic welfare state as was envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal. He appreciated the services of Commissioner Gujranwala division Abdul Jabbar Shaheen and said that like Lahore, he has also made Gujranwala a city of flowers by decorating Sialkot road.