Shafqat Mahmood Distributes Glasses Among 168 Students With Weak Eye Sight

Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood Wednesday distributed free glasses among 168 students of Islamabad Model College for Girls (IMCG) G/6-1, identified with weak eye sight

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Oct, 2019 ) :Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood Wednesday distributed free glasses among 168 students of Islamabad Model College for Girls (IMCG) G/6-1, identified with weak eye sight.

The glasses were distributed under the ICT School-Based Health Initiative, "school Eye Health Screening" in a vision glasses distribution ceremony organized by a private organization in collaboration with Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) and Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training.

Under the first phase of initiative, the eye screening of around 200,000 students of the 423 schools, colleges of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) would be checked. Initially, the eye screening test was held in two public sector schools out of which around 168 students were identified with weak eye sight.

Addressing the ceremony, the minister said that the project has been started by the Sight Saver an NGO on my personal request. He commended the efforts of Country Director Sight Saver Syeda Munaza Gilani for her cooperation in completing the project.

He said the expenses of the project were totally given by the Sight Saver.

Weak Eye sight, Shafqat said, was affecting the study of children. He said the initiative would be completed in next two years.

Earlier in her address, Country Director Syeda Munaza Gilani said that this programme has been launched on urgently basis with the personal interest of the education minister.

She lauded the role of FDE team for supporting the programme. She said the aim of this programme was to create awareness about various eye sight diseases among the students.

She informed that around 2.2 billion people globally were facing the eye related diseases. According to a survey conducted in Pakistan, she said, around 5.3 percent people were facing weak eye sight issues, adding most of them are girls.

This programme was working in many cities of Pakistan under which more than 70 thousand children had been provided glasses, she said and added, the teachers had also been provided basic training so that they could identify those children having weak eye sight.