Department of Youth Affairs, Sports, Archeology and Tourism Punjab and Special Education Department Punjab signed an MoU to provide special children free sports facilities, arranging free study tours of historic places besides holding their sports competitions. The MoU signing ceremony was held at Punjab Stadium during a press conference on Wednesday. Punjab Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Tourism Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti and Punjab Minister for Special Education Muhammad Akhlaq were guests of honour on this occasion. Secretary Youth Affairs, Sports, Archeology and Tourism Punjab Ehsan Bhutta and Secretary Special Education Syed Javed Iqbal Bukhari signed the MoU in the largely-attended ceremony. While addressing the press conference, Punjab Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Tourism Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti said special children are vital part of our society and Punjab govt will utilize all resources to provide best facilities to special children. “Providing all facilities to special children for their welfare is our prime obligation. Our four departments - Youth Affairs, Sports, Archeology and Tourism are available to facilitate and entertain special children all the time,” he added. Punjab Minister for Sports Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti said special children can also use our rest houses in Murree and Kallar Kahar and other relevant facilities free of cost. “We will arrange free of cost sight-seeing tours for special children where our guides will be available to provide proper information about any particular historical and archeological site,” he explained. “It is our first collaboration with a department and we will sign more such MoUs with other departments. We are also going to make special children events a part of our Annual Sports Calendar activities”. Punjab Minister for Special Education Muhammad Akhlaq, on this occasion thanked Punjab Minister for Sports Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti for taking this important initiative. “This MoU is exactly as per the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to provide best facilities to all segments of society”. “We are going make legislation in regard according to which special children will be entitled to use all facilities and infrastructure in Punjab like normal young generation.
We are also going to launch IT courses for special children. It is fact that special children have great potential and have the ability to become normal and useful citizens,” he maintained. Secretary Youth Affairs, Sports, Archeology and Tourism Punjab Ehsan Bhutta said special children have special needs and it is our moral duty to take extra care of them. “We will arrange TDCP’s double decker buses for sight-seeing and observing our great cultural heritage”. Secretary Youth Affairs, Sports, Archeology and Tourism Punjab Ehsan Bhutta said Department of Youth Affairs, Sports, Archeology and Tourism Punjab will also lend necessary cooperation for evolving special course to train teachers of Special Education Department. “We will also send our resource person for the training purpose. Special students will be provided every opportunity to take part in academic and non-academic healthy activities”. Briefing about the MoU, Secretary Special Education Syed Javed Iqbal Bukhari appreciated great initiative taken by Department of Youth Affairs, Sports, Archeology and Tourism Punjab. “This MoU is aimed at enhancing the confidence of special children and speed up their rehabilitation process. All indoor and outdoor facilities are must for special children. We have chalked out a compact plan for one year according to which all special schools will be informed about their visit of the certain historic place,” he elaborates. Managing Director Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) Tanveer Jabbar, Additional Secretary YASAT Iftikhar Ali, Deputy Secretary Sports Tasneem Ahmed, Director Sports Hafeez Bhatti, Deputy Director Shahid Nizami and other officials of Youth Affairs, Archeology and Tourism were also present on this occasion.