‘Laptop assembling plant to be set up in Punjab’
LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to establish an assembling plant of high quality laptops at Sundar Industrial Estate, Lahore, in collaboration with highly reputed international computer hardware companies.
This will help facilitate the distribution of laptops to the brilliant students in the province of Punjab at a larger scale.According to a handout issued Thursday, this was said by Punjab Minister for Education Rana Mashhood Ahmed while presiding over a briefing session at Higher Education Department.
The minister said there was a demand of 80,000 laptops per annum in the province for their free of cost distribution among the intelligent students of various private and public sector universities in the province while there was an ample demand from the federally administered universities also.
“We will establish our own brand of laptop which will be a pride for our younger generation. We will not compromise on technical quality of Pakistan assembled laptop,” the minister said. “This step will prove a milestone in the process of transfer of the latest technology to Pakistan and we will be able to export laptop of our brand to Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia with the passage of time, the minister added.
The meeting was informed that 100,000 laptops were procured from Dell this year out of which 92,000 laptops were distributed on merit among the students while 8,000 were lying in the stock. About 72,000 laptops are to be procured for provision to the next session of fresh graduates in January 2014.
The education minister constituted a committee for procurement and distribution of laptops. The committee will include HED Punjab secretary, industries secretary, Board of Investment Punjab chairman and the representatives of DFID and stakeholders.
It was decided in the meeting to initiate a programme for summer internship for position holder students in various European universities instead of sending them on recreational tours of these universities.
DFID will be requested to streamline this proposal and the scheme for training for the college teachers. This training abroad will also be held under the auspices of DFID for the first time in the history of Punjab.
The minister was informed that 101 new colleges were constructed during the last tenure of Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif as Punjab chief minister while missing facilities were provided to 96 colleges during the last five years.
According to the next five years plan, establishment of 82 new colleges has been planned while missing facilities will be provided in 68 colleges at a cost of Rs 1,470 million. Funds to the tune of Rs 175 million have been allocated for different projects of commerce colleges in the province while Rs 266 million have been allocated for establishment of new universities.
Rana Mashhood Ahmed directed the authorities concerned to focus on bringing the existing universities to the level of world class universities instead of establishing new universities at a massive level.
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