Summary PM Shehbaz announced Pakistan’s first youth policy, promising education, technology, startup support, women’s quota and greater opportunities for young people.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced Pakistan’s first National Youth Policy, featuring a 35pc quota for women in the labour force and a 10pc quota to support youth startups.
Speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad on International Youth Day, the prime minister said the policy would focus on creating equal educational and economic opportunities for young people.
PM Shehbaz said Pakistan has millions of talented young people who can excel globally if provided with quality education. He stressed the need to bridge the gap between educational opportunities available to children from affluent and underprivileged families.
He said Daanish Schools were established as an alternative to elite educational institutions and announced that the network was being expanded to Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Balochistan. He added that free education would be provided and the quality of education would be comparable to elite institutions.
The prime minister announced that 1,000 students from across Pakistan would be sent to China on government funding to study information technology and artificial intelligence. He said students had previously been sent to China on merit to receive modern agricultural education.
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PM Shehbaz also announced that classes at Daanish University Islamabad would begin next year, with the institution focusing on technical and modern sciences and offering admissions purely on merit.
He said seven lakh laptops had so far been distributed to students on merit and announced that another 250,000 Chromebooks would be provided to students across the country this year.
Under the National Youth Policy, the prime minister announced a mandatory 35pc quota for women across the labour force and a 10pc quota for youth startups to encourage young people to establish businesses rather than rely solely on employment opportunities.
PM Shehbaz said the initiatives were aimed at empowering young people through education, technology, entrepreneurship and equal opportunities. He added that while Pakistan was created by its elders in 1947, the youth would shape the Pakistan of 2047 according to their aspirations.
