The Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) is spending over Rs100 million annually to subsidize the education of expatriates’ children studying in its 25 educational institutions operating across the country.
“The foundation is offering 50 per cent discount in tuition fee to the children of overseas Pakistanis at all its educational institutions and bearing Rs102 million per annum in this regard,” a senior official in OPF Educational Wing told APP here on Tuesday.
He said the OPF had set up a high quality education system for educational well-being of expats children who were given first right of admission at its 20 high schools, four colleges and one primary school, operational throughout the country including Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
In addition to formal academic education, ample opportunities were being provided to students to polish their creative, artistic and leadership skills, he added.
“OPF also gives great importance to educating children in their national history and providing them with opportunities to study the intellectual, spiritual, ethical and moral values in the light of teaching of Islamic,” he remarked.
To a query, the official said the OPF was constantly drawing up new strategies and plans to bring reforms in its all educational institutions, adding that the foundation had launched E-learning initiative to impart quality education to the students studying in its educational institutions located in remote areas.
He said the OPF had recently expanded its E-Learning Programme to the Pakistan International School Riyadh after receiving a large number of complaints from Pakistanis expatriated to the Middle East about low quality of education being imparted in community schools there.
“Efforts are underway to provide this facility to other Pakistani community schools in other countries as well,” he added.
To another query, he said the foundation was playing greater role to fulfill the educational needs of expats’ children as it had recently launched ‘Overseas Pakistanis Education Fund’ to provide financial assistance to those children who were studying in other institutions.
“Rs37.48 million has been disbursed amongst 13,053 children of Overseas Pakistanis since the establishment of fund,” he added.—APP
