PESHAWAR - Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has approved a separate institute for female destitute on the pattern of the model institute “Zamung Kor”.
The public welfare departments will run the institute and the chief minister directed to immediately plan it.
Pervez Khattak directed the authority concerned to plan “Zamung Kor” at all divisional headquarters of the province.
He assured a separate hostel for elder female destitute in Peshawar and directed to prepare a comprehensive plan in this regard.
He was presiding over a meeting to review the progress on “Zamung Kor” at the Chief Minister Secretariat Peshawar on Tuesday.
Senior Minister for Social Welfare Sikandar Khan Sherpao and others attended the meeting. A presentation was also arranged that focused on the vision, mission, targets, funding, monitoring capacity and the facilities given to the destitute children in Zamung Kor.
Initiated in 2015, the institute was fully operational under the vision of the provincial government.
As many as 142 children were in the institute, another 107 children were identified to be brought to the institute and the strength would rise from 300 to 400.
The capacity of the institute could be enhanced to accommodate 1,000 more destitute children.
The meeting was informed about the transparent monitoring committees, constituted for recruitment, admission of children, financial planning and monitoring etc. All these activities are carried out under the law.
The meeting was also informed about the grooming of children both traditional and religious.
The chief minister directed to plan the extension of the Institute at the divisional level, both for male and female.
He also directed to make mandatory “Nazira Quran” in the primary section of the institute and “Quran” along with translation up to 10th class in the syllabus of the institute. Khattak also directed to arrange a permanent psychologist for the institute. The government wanted to provide modern education to the children in these institutes, he added.
It is a unique model in the country and therefore, the provincial government would never compromise on the protection, caring, training and education of children.
He further said that he would soon convene a meeting of the Board of Governors of the project to make some critical decisions to achieve the goals of the institute.
The extension of this institution to the divisional level would bring far reaching impacts, training the destitute children to contribute to the national development.
The CM, while highlighting the mainstreaming of street children, said that any government and society could not escape its responsibilities to own the street children.
He stressed modern education and training for street children in order to make them as a constructive part of the society. They would have to be seen as the equal stakeholder in the national development, Khattak added.
The only thing the government and the society should do is to give them the environment and should not see them as a burden on the society. The government and society have collectively shared responsibilities to do justice to the street children.