F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sardar Ali Amin Khan Gandapur as a revolutionary step for the promotion of education in the province, has announced an “Education Emergency”, and decided to launch “Education Card,” on the pattern of the Health Card in the province. Initially, the Education Card will be launched in nine far flung districts including Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan, Kolai-Palas, Tor Ghar, Upper Chitral, Lower Chitral, Tank, Upper South Waziristan, and Lower South Waziristan. Later on, the initiative will also be extended to other districts across the province.
This decision was made during an important meeting of the Elementary & Secondary Education Department, held here at Chief Minister’s Secretariat Peshawar on Tuesday with Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur in the chair. Provincial Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education, Faisal Tarakai, Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary, Abid Majeed, and senior officials of the education department attended the meeting.
Under the Education Card, children to be enrolled in government schools will receive a monthly stipend of Rs. 1000 per child. Additionally, children in the aforementioned districts will be able to enroll in registered private schools on the expenses of the provincial government. Initially, 40,000 children from these nine districts will benefit from this initiative. Similarly, under this scheme, girls from grades 6 to 10, already enrolled in government schools across the province, will be provided with monthly stipend of Rs. 500 each. Around 550,000 girls will benefit from these stipends. The annual cost of these educational stipends is estimated as Rs. 3.1 billion, which will be borne by the provincial government.
Furthermore, the provision of free textbooks, scholarships, and other existing facilities will be unified under the Education Card. Approximately 50 million free text books will be provided to children from grades 1 to 12. Additionally, 506 talented students will also be granted ETEA scholarships.
In order to ensure the sustainability of the Education Card program, the Chief Minister has also approved to establish a “Chief Minister’s Education Emergency Endowment Fund” with the seed money of Rs. 3 billion. Addressing the participants of the meeting, the Chief Minister said that promoting quality education in the province is the top most priority of the provincial government, and for this purpose, education card is being introduced. He stated that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the first province in the country to introduce the Education Card.
The Chief Minister maintained that his government is not only striving to provide facilities to students already enrolled in schools but is also focused on encouraging out-of-school children to return to education. “The ultimate goal is to increase the province’s literacy rate and ensure the formation of an educated and aware society. The launch of the Education Card will prove to be a milestone toward achieving this goal”, he remarked.
KP CM inaugurates BRT Pabbi Route: KP Chief Minister Sardar Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, inaugurated the new Pabbi Route of the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system here on Tuesday at Chamkani BRT Station. A large number of the senior officials, including the Secretary of Transport, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) TransPeshawar and the Managing Director of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Urban Mobility Authority (KPUMA) were also pres.ent on the occasion
The newly launched Pabbi route connects Pabbi Bazaar to Sardar Garhi BRT Station, spanning a total of 16 kilometers. The route includes 13 stops: Pabbi Terminal, Pabbi Bazaar, Kajhoor Stop, Pabbi Railway Station, Girls Degree College, WAPDA Town, Taru Jabba, Tarnab Farm, Kala Mandi, Jhagra, Shahad Market, Chamkani, and Sardar Garhi. According to the TransPeshawar spokesperson, the route will operate from 6:30 AM to 7:00 PM, with buses running every 20 minutes providing travel facility to an estimated 4,000 passengers daily. The one-way travel time for the route is approximately 33 minutes.
The spokesperson further stated that with the inauguration of the Pabbi route, the total number of BRT routes has increased to 18, expanding the network’s reach and providing enhanced convenience to passengers. Since its launch on August 13, 2020, BRT Peshawar has transformed public transport in the city. Currently, 244 buses operate across 17 routes, serving around 300,000 passengers daily. To date, BRT Peshawar has carried over 280 million passengers. The Pabbi route is another critical addition to the BRT network, which already serves key areas such as GT Road, Kohat Road, Charsadda Road, Hayatabad, Regi/DHA, and the Southern Ring Road, further strengthening Peshawar’s public transport infrastructure.
