Says Daanish School graduates show what children could accomplish when given access to education
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaks at the inauguration of a Daanish School in Islamabad on Sunday. SCREENGRAB
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said every child in Pakistan deserved equal access to education, regardless of their family’s wealth or social status, stressing that the country could not fulfil Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision without providing equal opportunities to all.
“Whether she is the daughter of a poor person or he is the son of a labourer, whether it is an orphan girl or an orphan boy, whether he is the son of a rich person or she is the daughter of a rich person, everyone should have equal opportunities for education and treatment,” The prime minister said while addressing the inauguration of a Daanish School in Islamabad.
PM Shehbaz said the accounts of students from disadvantaged backgrounds had moved the audience, highlighting how access to quality education had transformed their lives and opened doors to opportunities that might otherwise have remained out of reach.
“Until we achieve this goal, Pakistan will not be the Pakistan envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam,” the prime minister added.
The prime minister referred to the story of a student from Balochistan who had attended a Daanish School in Dera Ghazi Khan and was now serving as an officer at Punjab Safe Cities.
“He said that when he came from Balochistan to the Daanish School in Dera Ghazi Khan, he was apprehensive about how he would be treated in Punjab,” the prime minister recalled.
“But this Daanish School treated the children from Balochistan and other provinces like a caring mother, and ultimately everyone said: this is the real Pakistan, where we are all equal and united,” he said.
PM Shehbaz also referred to students from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) who had shared accounts of their experiences. He praised the courage of the children who spoke about the difficulties they had overcome, saying their stories had moved the audience.
Read: Pakistan’s progress linked to education, teachers, says Shehbaz
“If these great sons and daughters of the nation can stand tall and tell the entire nation their stories, despite being overcome with emotion, why should I not stand here and pay tribute to them and their parents?” he said.
He noted that Daanish School graduates had gone on to become doctors, engineers, police officers, bureaucrats, sales managers and teachers, adding that the initiative represented the realisation of Quaid-e-Azam’s vision.
Recalling the initiative’s origins during his tenure as Punjab chief minister, PM Shehbaz questioned why children from affluent families could attend elite institutions while millions of equally talented children from poor households could not access comparable education.
He said the disparity had prompted his team to establish Daanish Schools in Punjab in 2010, with the aim of providing quality education to children whose circumstances might otherwise limit their opportunities.
The prime minister highlighted the journeys of Daanish School students and graduates to demonstrate how access to education could change lives.
“Imagine the plight of children like this daughter from Bahawalpur, this daughter from K-P, and this boy sitting before you, who also became a doctor,” he said.
The prime minister said the achievements of Daanish School graduates showed what children could accomplish when given access to education. Graduates had gone on to become doctors, engineers, police officers, bureaucrats, sales managers and teachers, he added.
Read more: PM Shehbaz vows equal education opportunities to realise Quaid-e-Azam’s welfare-state vision
Recalling the origins of the Daanish Schools initiative during his tenure as Punjab chief minister, PM Shehbaz said, “How come the sons of rich people enter the iron steel gates of Aitchison College?” he said, referring to children of prime ministers, governors, bureaucrats, judges, civil servants, landlords and mill owners.
He contrasted their opportunities with those available to children from poorer households across the country, including AJK and G-B, saying many talented students could not even imagine attending such institutions, let alone receiving a comparable education.
PM Shehbaz said the disparity had prompted his team to introduce Daanish Schools in Punjab in 2010. “The concept was introduced in Punjab, not only to match the quality and level of Aitchison College and other grammar schools all over Punjab and other parts of Pakistan, but to excel,” he said.
He also called for information technology and artificial intelligence laboratories to be established in the schools, urging officials to ensure that students had access to modern knowledge and technology.
“Let these young sons and daughters of the nation have modern knowledge and modern technology in their hands, so that they can prove their mettle not only in Pakistan but across the world through honesty, hard work and integrity,” he said.
The Daanish Schools initiative was launched in Punjab in 2010 under then chief minister Shehbaz Sharif to provide quality education to talented children from underprivileged backgrounds. The programme was designed to give students from low-income families access to educational opportunities comparable to those available at elite institutions, with residential facilities and other support provided to help them continue their studies.
The initiative initially focused on rural and underserved areas of Punjab, with the schools offering boarding facilities alongside education. The programme was later extended beyond the province, with plans for new institutions in Balochistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
