The Punjab Government has launched a novel initiative to examine the eye sight of all school children under a mass campaign and provide spectacle free of cost to the students with a weaker eye sight.According to Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jiyani it was noticed that educational performance fo students was getting low due to weaker eye sight and poor parent were unable to bear the cost of spectacle .He took up the cause with Union Helth Minister to get a special plan sanctioned under which all school children irrespective of economic criterion would be provided spectacles free of cost and a data bank of such students would be maintained in central server and their eye sight would be rechecked every 6 months and their lances would be changed accordingly.
Issuing instruction to all Civil Surgeons to monito0r the progress of this novel mission personally, Mr. Jiyani said that more that 45,000 students have already been provided free spectacles during last six monthsMr. Hussan Lal ,Secretary Health said that, in order strengthen eye care facilities for the general public, about 2 lakh Cataract Surgeries have been performed in Government and private hospitals.