K-P vows furniture for all students

Express Tribune

01-06-2025

In a significant move to bolster public education, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has announced that all students enrolled in government schools across the province will receive proper furniture during the next fiscal year.
The initiative is part of the province's ongoing "education emergency" campaign aimed at uplifting basic educational infrastructure.
Chairing a high-level meeting on Sunday to finalize the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the upcoming financial year, the chief minister directed relevant authorities to ensure that no student in the public sector is left sitting on the floor due to a lack of furniture.
He assured that all necessary funds for this initiative would be made available on a priority basis. Emphasizing the provincial government's commitment to improving basic school facilities, Gandapur reiterated that functional washrooms, access to clean drinking water, and adequate classroom furniture are non-negotiable priorities.
In a broader push for quality education, the chief minister also announced the launch of a special program to enhance teaching standards in public schools. He directed that modern, skills-based training be made mandatory for all newly recruited teachers, adding that capacity-building for educators is essential for long-term educational reform.
The ADP planning meeting was attended by Advisor to the Chief Minister on Finance Muzammil Aslam, Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, Additional Chief Secretary for Planning and Development Ikramullah Khan, and administrative secretaries of various departments.
Participants held detailed deliberations on development proposals submitted by departments including Education, Health, Irrigation, Water Supply, Planning, Communications, and Local Government. Each project was individually reviewed for inclusion in the new ADP.
Speaking to the attendees, Chief Minister Gandapur described the upcoming ADP as a "visionary document" that would guide the province's development agenda for the next four years.
He said the plan would incorporate input from elected representatives and prioritize projects based on the genuine needs of local communities.
He further stated that the bulk of next year's development budget would be dedicated to completing ongoing projects, particularly those with over 80 per cent of work already completed. Approximately 50 per cent of other existing projects are also expected to be finalized within the year.
"The new ADP will be realistic and rooted in public needs," Gandapur said. "We will not chase superficial progress at the expense of essential services. Taxpayers' money will be used wisely and transparently."
Declaring that "every constituency in the province is my constituency," the CM assured that development initiatives would be allocated without political bias, with a special focus on uplifting underdeveloped areas.