Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif approved the laptop initiative for students in an important meeting focused on comprehensive higher education reforms.
According to the project, students across Punjab will receive modern laptops, marking the initiative's comeback after seven years. The promotion of higher education, the distribution of laptops, and student transportation facilities came under discussion during the meeting. It was also decided to build new universities and colleges in underserved areas on a priority basis.
The chief minister announced the government's objective of ensuring the availability of international-standard universities and tehsil-level institutions in every district.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also applauded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's announcement of an "educational emergency," which demonstrates the government's willingness to address the difficulties affecting the education system. She emphasized the importance of completely overhauling the school and higher education sectors in order to satisfy students' changing requirements and prepare them for future challenges.
"We are giving away 20,000 motorbikes to students across the province," she stated, adding that the Punjab government was investing in the knowledge economy and ICT education.
The participants of the meeting were also informed that budgetary support for postsecondary education remained significant while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) governments were in power. Additionally, data from the briefing revealed that over 650,000 students are presently enrolled in universities throughout Punjab in order to continue their education.
Remarkably, the percentage of female students enrolled in universities exceeded that of male students, with 56% of women and 44% of men.