With the education department at the PA agenda during question-answer session, Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman gave answers to the provincial assembly members, with Mehar Mushtaq in the chair on Tuesday in absence of the speaker and the deputy speaker.
Responding to the questions from the members, the education minister claimed that, with a cost of four billion rupees, the process of providing all necessary facilities to schools had been kicked off which would be complete by June next. To a question, the minister said that the DPS schools were autonomous and had their own system to regulate their fees - ranging from Rs 2100 to Rs 6000 at different tier of studies.
Nighat Nasir Sheikh challenged the answer that drinkable water available in the schools in 35 districts of the Punjab was hygienically fit for consumption. The minister claimed water samples in 46,0000 schools were collected for laboratory testing with the cooperation of UNICEF and 94 per cent of them were found fit for consumption and free of bacterial contamination and 83 per cent free of Arsenic contamination.
He said that, in order to purify the rest of the 13 per cent water, deep boring for water was being conducted. Besides repairing of the hand pumps of the drainage and sewerage system was going on, so that the leakage of filthy water into the ground could be checked.
He said the power motors were also being installed where it was necessary. He said that, at the moment, work was under way with the cooperation of UNICEF in six districts including Kasur, Sheikhupura, Sargodha, Mianwali, Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan.
�CM�s claim about Bahawalpur shows dual policy�: PML-Q MPA Sardar Mohsin Leghari has said that the claim of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif about restoring the status of Bahawalpur as a separate province reflects his party�s dual policy as his resolution on separate provinces in the Punjab Assembly was rejected on technical ground.
In a press conference here Tuesday, Mohsin Leghari expressed his astonishment over Shahbaz Sharif�s claim about making Bahawalpur as independent province and restoring one-unit, saying that it was also meant to deprive Balochistan of the status of a province. He claimed that the CM should adopt legal and constitutional way if he wanted to make Bahawalpur a separate province instead of making it merely political stint before public gatherings. He claimed that PML-N leaders were using this slogan in South Punjab while they rejected the resolution on the issue on technical ground.
Leghari claimed that Balochistan attained the status of separate province in 1973 and before this Kalat, Lasbella and Swat, Dir, Hunza were autonomous states in the KPK. He advised the CM to take advice from his legal advisors before giving any such statement.
The News