GILGIT:Chief Secretary (CS) Gilgit Baltistan (GB) Muhiudeen Wani Monday vowed to reform the education landscape of Pakistan
The CS GB in an official statement to media here in Gilgit, said , the GB Government and Allah Walay Trust launched the free School Meals Program in the city of Skardu.
He added CEO Allah Walay Trust Shahid Lone and I personally inaugurated the unique initiative. Within two months, we will have extended the program to 30 public schools across Skardu.
“Evidence reveals that free school meal programs have increased school enrollment and child health, and drastically reduced school dropout rates around the world”CS GB said.
He said in addition to meals, our teams will assess the Body Mass Index (BMI) of each student and conduct free eye tests.
He said our initial assessment of Government Primary School Khargrong Skardu–where we launched the program–in fact, revealed that 20% students were shortsighted, while similar assessments of teachers in Gilgit and Chilas revealed that 98% of teachers had poor vision, adding that we will provide spectacles free of cost to all these students and teachers.
Chief Secretary GB said finally, our intervention is poised to increase enrollment in public schools by 20%, result in attendance figures of 98% and reduce dropout rates to zero inshAllah.