Chakwal: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has unveiled plans to distribute eighty thousand scholarships next year and to establish more Centers of Excellence across the province. She made these announcements during the inauguration ceremony of the High Achievers Scholarship and Laptop Scheme Phase-II in Chakwal today.

According to Radio Pakistan, the Chief Minister further declared the establishment of six thousand STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) labs and Schools of Eminence throughout the province. Additionally, 118,000 Core i7 laptops will be distributed to students, including those from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as part of this initiative.

Maryam Nawaz also inaugurated Punjab’s first Center of Excellence School in Chakwal, developed over forty kanals of land at a cost of 650 million rupees. The school is equipped with facilities that surpass those of private institutions.

She highlighted the provincial government’s response to the recent flood crisis, noting that the entire provincial cabinet, administration, and herself worked tirelessly to aid flood victims, unlike other provinces that only held press conferences. The Chief Minister emphasized that the crime rate in Punjab has decreased following the establishment of the CCD.

Chief Minister Punjab stressed that all scholarships and laptops are being distributed strictly on merit, with no student receiving any benefit due to recommendations or political affiliations. She noted that over 27,000 applications for laptops were received from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan alone.

The Chief Minister reiterated her commitment to introducing Artificial Intelligence and Robotics education in Punjab, drawing on her visits to China and Japan to pledge similar or better educational environments in Punjab’s educational institutions.

She also announced that state-of-the-art cancer treatment facilities and modern Co-Ablation machines are being introduced in the Rawalpindi division, with a new cancer treatment center already operational in Sargodha. Furthermore, Maryam Nawaz revealed that ninety thousand houses are being built within just eight months under the ‘Apni Chhat Apna Ghar’ initiative.