When quality higher education for the poor in Pakistan began to seem impossible, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, approximately 26 years ago, envisioned a dream to ensure that the poor and middle classes would not be deprived of quality education. Today, that dream has not only emerged as a reality but has also begun to bear fruit beyond Punjab, reaching other provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. Approximately 20 to 25 years ago, the standard of education in government schools and colleges was considerably better, and parents aspired to secure admission for their children in reputable schools and colleges run by the federal or provincial governments. Admissions were granted on merit. However, when educational standards began to decline for several significant reasons, private schools gradually took their place. These institutions introduced hefty fees, depriving poor families of access to quality education. Whether it was the major private universities in Lahore or Aitchison College, children of wealthy industrialists, landlords and politicians began receiving quality education on the strength of their parents’ wealth and influence. Whether in the bureaucracy or politics, the name of Aitchison College alone carried considerable weight. Two or three major private universities subsequently joined this elite educational landscape, but their fees were so high that a poor family could not even afford to educate its child at an ordinary, lesser-known private school. It was during this period, in 2010, that Shehbaz Sharif laid the foundation of the Danish School System. Initially, opposition parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party, which was in opposition at the time, and other political groups criticised the initiative. However, time has proved that Shehbaz Sharif’s decision was correct. Today, if we look into the eyes of children who could never have pursued higher education because their parents lacked the financial resources to pay private school fees, we see a different reality. These children secured admission to Danish Schools on merit and are now serving in high-ranking positions. Across Pakistan’s remote villages, mountainous regions and cities, millions of talented children were watching their abilities disappear into the darkness of poverty. However, “Shehbaz Speed” secured their future. Recently, on October 18, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated a Danish School on Kuri Road in Islamabad. It has become a new centre of hope for children, equipped with modern classrooms, robotics facilities, IT and science laboratories, an e-library and an art room. Everything once accessible only to the wealthy and their children in prestigious private schools and universities is now available to underprivileged children at Danish Schools. These institutions now await children who possess nothing but intelligence and dreams. According to figures, more than 7,000 children applied for admission and 360 students from across the country were selected on merit. Children from Balochistan, the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Gilgit-Baltistan also sought admission to this Danish School System because, for years, these were the very children who had waited most eagerly to learn when and how they would receive free, quality education on merit. Their dreams are now beginning to come true here as well.

When Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched Danish Schools in 2010, his vision was clear: if the child of a wealthy family could study at an........

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