Khalid Sibtain
Islamabad: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Shaza Fatima Khawaja announced the relaunch of Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme. Through this initiative, laptops will be distributed among students from different universities and colleges across Pakistan. She further narrated that the Youth Business Loan Scheme has been revamped and through the Skills Development Programme, 100,000 youth will be equipped with skills.
In a meeting with various journalists SAPM said that Prime Minister’s Youth Programme was initiated in 2013 with the goal of empowering our young population. She told media persons that merit will be upheld in the laptop scheme. A special quota has been reserved for the students from Balochistan,and the number of laptops to be distributed there have been doubled. Additionally, 50 percent quota has been specified for women in laptop scheme.
Ms. Shaza Fatima denied all the rumours about the suspension of the Youth Business Loan Scheme and said that the initiative has gone through some structural changes. Loans up to 5 lac rupees are now interest free and to ease the loan process, the conditions for getting loans up to 75 lacs have been changed.
SAPM said that almost 2 million students graduate from different educational institutions every year and there is a big need of providing them with market-oriented education. Under Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, a national employment policy is being created.
She further said that the last government closed National Internship Programme. Technological transformation is one of our main focuses, tech trainings and digital skills scholarships will be given to students, said sapm. Shaza Fatima Khawaja informed journalists that a task force has been established and Government is aiming towards raising IT Exports to $15 million. SAPM highlighted that Youth Skills day is being celebrated today all across the globe. SAPM stressed upon the importance of Skills training. She said More than 50 million population of Pakistan is between the age of 15-25 years and our utmost goal is to train and equip them with skills.
