Speaking at the first graduation ceremony of the Alkhidmat Foundation’s Bano Qabil programme in Gujrat, Hafiz Naeem criticised the state of education in Pakistan and said the government was failing to fulfil its responsibilities.
He alleged that an elite comprising bureaucrats, feudal landlords and major business owners controlled agriculture, the economy and other sectors, leaving poor and middle-income groups vulnerable to exploitation.
Criticising the education system, Hafiz Naeem claimed that more than 27.5 million children in Pakistan were out of school, including 11.8 million in Punjab.
He also claimed that 70 per cent of government schools in Punjab lacked toilet facilities and that 52 per cent of students had failed their ninth-grade examinations. He said the situation in Sindh was even worse, accusing the government of focusing on advertising rather than addressing problems in the education sector.
The Jamaat e Islami chief said taxpayers deserved access to free, quality education and criticised political parties for failing to raise their voices effectively on issues such as education, inflation and agriculture.
He further alleged that 11,000 schools in Punjab had been sold, while the target was to reach 25,000 schools. These claims require independent verification.
Speaking about the Bano Qabil programme, Hafiz Naeem said it was launched in Karachi four years ago to help young people overcome frustration by providing access to free skills based courses.
He said Alkhidmat would continue offering young people opportunities to learn practical skills and start their own businesses, adding that Jamaat-e-Islami and the foundation would support those who pursued training.
He also highlighted Alkhidmat’s Z Connect programme, which aims to help young people advance in sports.
