PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur here on Sunday announced to provide furniture to all enrolled students of government schools under the educational emergency.

He directed relevant authorities to ensure that provision of furniture to every government school was completed during the next fiscal year. He said that no students in public sector school should sit on floor owing to non-available of furniture, according to an official statement.

It said that chief minister was chairing a meeting to finalise next Annual Development Programme. The meeting was attended by the adviser to chief minister on finance, Muzammil Aslam, the chief secretary, Shahab Ali Shah, the additional chief secretary for planning and development, Ikramullah Khan, and administrative secretaries of relevant departments.

The chief minister said that all required funds for provision of furniture to schools would be made available on a priority basis. He said that access to proper furniture, functional washrooms and clean drinking water in government schools was a top priority of the government.

Chairs meeting to review projects for next ADP

He said that a special programme should be launched to improve the quality of education in government schools. He said that modern training should be imparted to teachers and it should be made mandatory for all newly-recruited teachers.

During the meeting, detailed discussions were held on development proposals submitted by various departments including planning, communication, local government, education, health, irrigation and water supply. Each proposed project was individually reviewed and finalised for inclusion in the upcoming ADP.

Mr Gandapur said that the new ADP would be a visionary document, laying the foundation for the province’s development agenda over the next four years.

“The plan will incorporate input from elected public representatives and prioritise projects based on actual needs of communities across different regions,” the statement quoted the chief minister as saying.

He said that the ADP would include solid and practical projects serving broad public interests, with the majority of next year’s development funds allocated for completion of ongoing schemes.

Projects with more than 80 per cent progress will be completed within the next year, while approximately 50 per cent of other ongoing projects are also expected to reach completion in the same period.

The chief minister said that the new ADP would be realistic and aligned with the genuine needs of people. “We will not pursue superficial progress while leaving essential needs behind. We will ensure wise and effective use of taxpayers’ money,” he added.

He declared that every constituency in the province was his and pledged that there would be no discrimination in the allocation of development projects where at the same time assured that special attention would be given to uplifting underdeveloped regions.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2025