Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need to provide equal educational opportunities to every child in Pakistan, regardless of family income or social background, saying the country cannot fulfil Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision without ensuring equal access to education.
Addressing the inauguration of a Daanish School in Islamabad on Sunday, the prime minister said children from poor and wealthy families alike deserved the same opportunities to learn, develop their abilities and build successful futures.
“Whether she is the daughter of a poor person or he is the son of a labourer, whether it is an orphan girl or an orphan boy, whether he is the son of a rich person or she is the daughter of a rich person, everyone should have equal opportunities for education and treatment,” he said.
“Until we achieve this goal, Pakistan will not be the Pakistan envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam,” he added.
Daanish School Graduates Show Impact of Education
Shehbaz Sharif said the personal stories shared by students from disadvantaged backgrounds had moved the audience, demonstrating how access to quality education could transform lives and open doors to opportunities that might otherwise remain out of reach.
He highlighted the experience of a student from Balochistan who attended a Daanish School in Dera Ghazi Khan and later became an officer at Punjab Safe Cities.
The student had initially been apprehensive about moving from Balochistan to Punjab and how he would be treated there, the prime minister recalled.
However, he said the school welcomed children from Balochistan and other provinces with care and respect, helping them feel equal and united.
The prime minister also referred to students from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), praising their courage in sharing accounts of the difficulties they had overcome.
“If these great sons and daughters of the nation can stand tall and tell the entire nation their stories, despite being overcome with emotion, why should I not stand here and pay tribute to them and their parents?” he said.
From Disadvantaged Backgrounds to Professional Careers
The prime minister said Daanish School graduates had gone on to become doctors, engineers, police officers, bureaucrats, sales managers and teachers.
He cited these achievements as evidence of what children could accomplish when given access to quality education and the resources needed to develop their potential.
Shehbaz Sharif also recalled the journeys of students from Bahawalpur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other regions, saying their experiences illustrated the importance of ensuring that poverty did not prevent talented children from pursuing their ambitions.
He said the achievements of these students demonstrated the value of investing in education, particularly for children whose families could not afford expensive private institutions.
Daanish Schools Established to Bridge Education Gap
Recalling the origins of the initiative during his tenure as Punjab chief minister, Shehbaz Sharif said the programme was conceived in response to the disparity between the educational opportunities available to wealthy families and those accessible to children from low-income households.
He questioned why children from affluent backgrounds could attend elite institutions such as Aitchison College while equally talented students from poorer families lacked access to comparable educational facilities.
The disparity, he said, prompted his team to establish Daanish Schools in Punjab in 2010.
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“The concept was introduced in Punjab, not only to match the quality and level of Aitchison College and other grammar schools all over Punjab and other parts of Pakistan, but to excel,” he said.
The initiative was designed to provide quality education to talented children from underprivileged backgrounds, particularly in rural and underserved areas. The schools offer residential facilities and other support intended to help students continue their education despite financial difficulties.
The programme was subsequently expanded beyond Punjab, with plans for additional institutions in areas including Balochistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
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Shehbaz Sharif also called for information technology and artificial intelligence laboratories to be established in Daanish Schools, stressing the importance of equipping students with modern knowledge and technological skills.
He urged officials to ensure that children from disadvantaged backgrounds could access the tools and training needed to compete in an increasingly technology-driven world.
“Let these young sons and daughters of the nation have modern knowledge and modern technology in their hands, so that they can prove their mettle not only in Pakistan but across the world through honesty, hard work and integrity,” he said.
The prime minister’s remarks highlighted the role of education in promoting social mobility, reducing disparities and preparing young people for future opportunities.
He said the experiences of Daanish School students demonstrated that children’s potential should not be limited by their families’ financial circumstances, reiterating that equal educational opportunities were essential to building the Pakistan envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam.
