LAHORE: CHIEF Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Thursday that 100,000 laptops would be distributed among the high achiever students in a transparent manner.
He said the programme would leave a far-reaching impact on the education sector and provide an opportunity to the students to benefit from the latest technology in their academic pursuits and research. He also issued instructions for setting up a committee, headed by chairman Planning & Development, to evolve a strategy in this regard while keeping in view all aspects of the project.
He was presiding over a meeting regarding distribution of computers among talented students.
The chief minister said the aim of the national progress and prosperity could not be achieved without imparting the latest education to the new generation and in view of this fact, the Punjab government was attaching top priority to education sector. He said revolutionary measures had been taken for promotion of quality education as well as information technology in the province.

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Shahbaz said that not only the best companies had been selected for supply of laptops but the companies would also be responsible for their maintenance and after sale service. Issuing instructions for setting up a committee, headed by Planning & Development chairman, the CM said the committee should set a timeline within seven days regarding the implementation of the project so that it could be started as early as possible. He said the Punjab government is making heavy investment in this programme, therefore, the committee should negotiate with the companies interested in the supply of laptops regarding their price and other matters and ensure that top quality laptops are purchased at reasonable rate.
Shahbaz said the project of setting up IT labs in more than 4,000 schools of the province had been completed transparently in a record period of time and now hundreds of thousands of students from Attock to Rahimyar Khan were benefiting from modern technology and gaining latest information about the changing world. Similarly, he said, the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund had been set up first time in the country’s history to help such talented students as were facing financial problems to continue their academic activities. He said scholarships were being given from the fund not only to the students of Punjab but also of other provinces.
Chairman Information Technology Board Dr. Javed Abdul Ghani gave a detailed briefing regarding various aspects of the project.
Earlier, the Punjab Information Technology Board chairman while giving a briefing regarding the programme said about provision of connectivity campus “hot spots” in selected colleges/universities. He said a number of meetings with the Planning & Development chairman and officers of the departments concerned had been held to consider the procedure of distribution of laptops, selection of students and other matters.
He also threw light on various proposals with regard to connectivity of laptops with internet. The chief secretary, chairman Planning & Development, secretary Higher Education, secretary Schools, chairman Punjab Education Foundation, vice-chancellor Punjab University, chairman Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Lahore, chairman Punjab Vocational Training Council, chairman Punjab Youth Council and IT experts were present in the meeting.