LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif presided over a high level meeting on Thursday, which reviewed the pace of implementation of reforms programme in the education sector. The meeting expressed its satisfaction over the steps taken under reforms programme for ensuring attendance of teachers in schools and promotion of quality education. Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said that the provincial government has evolved a splendid programme for achieving the targets in education sector till 2018. He said that under ‘Parho Punjab, Barho Punjab’ programme, the attendance of teachers has substantially improved in schools. He said that promotion of quality education is his mission and it will be fulfilled at any cost. Shahbaz said the Punjab government would continue to provide funds for this purpose in future as well. “Appointments of teachers in Punjab have been made purely on merit due to which the standard of education is improving. Commitment and hard work is necessary for achieving the targets of the reforms programme, he added. The chief minister said that quality education is the basic right of every child and Punjab government is no stone unturned in ensuring this right. The meeting also decided to launch pilot programme for mobile training of teachers under which modern training will be imparted to teachers in schools. The chief minister on the occasion also announced a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each for EDO Education Gujranwala Muhammad Sohaib Imran and EDO Education Narowal Ayaz Sabir for their outstanding performance for achieving educational targets. He said that the system of reward and punishment is essential for the achievement of the targets in education sector, adding that the officers showing good performance will be encouraged while inefficient officials will be held accountable. He noted that continuous and effective measures are needed for provision of quality education to children in schools. He said that provision of funds for promotion of quality education is a useful investment in the future of the country and there will be no shortage of resources for this purpose. The chief minister further said that attendance of teachers and students in schools has substantially improved, however, there is a need for continuous monitoring of the steps taken. “Punjab government has made investment of billions of rupees in education sector during the last seven years, however, it is only the beginning of a long journey,” he added. Musharraf Zaidi of Alif Ailan Programme gave a briefing to the chief minister on the survey of schools in Gujranwala and Narowal and the pace of implementation of education reforms programme. He said that during the survey in Gujranwala and Narowal, attendance of teachers was 97% and credit for this goes to the chief minister and his team. Zaidi further said that the policy of the CM regarding appointment of teachers on merit has been very successful due to which the standard of education is improving in schools. Provincial Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmed and Punjab Information Technology Board chairman also attended the meeting.