Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday vowed to expand the Daanish Schools network to Balochistan, AJK, Gilgit Baltistan and Islamabad as he met Ayan Kashif, a student of Daanish School Mianwali, who clinched the first position in the matriculation examination of BISE Lahore.

The prime minister invited the student to the Prime Minister’s House to personally meet him and extend greetings on his achievement despite being an orphan with a humble financial background.

The prime minister congratulated the student, his mother and the school principal, also accompanying him, and said such talented youth could guarantee Pakistan’s progress as the government was also focusing on their skill and vocational training to make them employable and boost the country’s agriculture and industrial production.

He said that the government would build four Daanish schools in Balochistan and also establish the facility in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, Ex-FATA districts and Islamabad. For the Islamabad campus, the land has been identified and the budget allocated, he added.

Ayan Kashif paid tribute to the prime minister for his vision of Daanish Schools which enabled him to excel in his studies.

As the prime minister questioned, he appreciated the facilities of the dormitory, uniform, food and stationery being provided there without any charge as his mother also applauded the professionalism and support of the school’s teaching staff.

“Daanish is a proud moment for us as children with low-income backgrounds with some being single orphans or double orphans are studying there. For the double orphans, Daanish schools prove to be their only support,” the prime minister said before giving away a a cheque of Rs1 million and a laptop to the student.

The prime minister told the gathering, also comprising federal ministers and senior government officers, that he got the idea of Daanish Schools as “it always pinched me that on one side the huge iron fences of Aitcheson College are obstructing the entry of poor students for the facility being limited to the children of elite class, landlords and senior officers. The poor can’t think of enrolling their children there.”

“I think this position goes to you sir,” the student said and arose to offer his medal to the prime minister which he returned affectionately amidst the clapping by the participants.

Prime Minister Shehbaz said the government was investing in skill and vocational training of youth to enhance their productivity and employability in multiple fields, like agriculture, information technology, export-bases industry, SMEs and freelancing.

To the suggestion of Ayan of elevating the Daanish Authority to the university level, the prime minister assured to convey it to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz whom he also lauded for carrying forward the vision effectively.

Ayan’s mother also thanked the prime minister and said the credit for his son’s achievement and her happiness went to the Daanish School and its highly professional faculty.

The prime minister said Daanish School offered market-competitive salaries to the teachers to ensure quality education to the students, despite protests at that time.

“The Aitcheson, Grammar Schools, Lawrence College, Convents and other private institutions charge huge fees from students and their parents can afford that. But if the students from poor families, who might be even more intelligent, remained deprived of quality education just for lacking resources, it would be nothing but the state’s failure,” he remarked.

In his comment, the school principal also said that at Daanish Schools, the prime minister’s vision was being materialised in a befitting manner.