The Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) for Youth Affairs, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, has announced that free laptops will soon be given on merit to 100,000 students enrolled at government universities and colleges under the Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme.
She clarified that the “laptops will be provided to all Ph.D. and post-graduate students while the top performers in undergraduate programs will also be included in the scheme”.
Explaining the allocation quota, the SAPM specified that the students in Balochistan’s quota has been doubled in the laptop scheme, while a quota has also been allocated for disabled students, and a 50 percent quota has been allocated for women.
SAPM Khawaja also mentioned that the PM’s Youth Program had been founded by the Pakistan Muslim League -Nawaz (PML-N) government in 2013, and it includes six steps to empower the youth.
She detailed that nearly two million graduates enter the market annually and it is necessary to provide them with skills and knowledge to meet market needs, and added that work on devising the National Youth Employment Policy under PM’s Youth Program is in progress.
She further stated that 100,000 youth will be trained in skills and IT under the Prime Minister’s Skilled Program.
She continued that 50 million of Pakistan’s youth are between the ages of 15 and 25 years, and empowering them with skills is the utmost priority of the government while the Sports Talent Hunt Program will be continued.
The SAPM lauded the important role of Pakistan’s young freelancers in the economy and stated, “Our target is to take IT exports to $15 billion”.
She also detailed that 100,000 youngsters will be given free training in technical skills in traditional and high-tech sectors under the Prime Minister Skilled Pakistan program.
SAPM Khawaja announced that a Digital Pakistan Task Force has been constituted to promote IT across the country, and indicated that technology programs will be introduced at the Intermediate and Matriculation levels.
In her concluding remarks, she stressed that development can only be achieved through the continuation of policies.
Source: pro Pakistan