KP Announces Free Education for Talented Students

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa cabinet has endorsed the provision of free, high-quality education from 7th to 12th grade for gifted students enrolled in government schools. These students will gain access to esteemed educational institutions within the province.

Under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, the cabinet convened and made significant decisions concerning energy production, education, food security, wheat procurement, and sustainable development.

Approval was granted for the rehabilitation and restoration of the 17-megawatt (MW) Ranolia Hydropower Project in Lower Kohistan.

The project, previously approved by the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) for Rs8.1 billion, was now endorsed by the cabinet as a non-ADP scheme, with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank. Additionally, the acquisition of 327 kanal land for the 88MW Gabral Kalam Hydropower project in District Swat, funded by the World Bank, was sanctioned.

Once operational, this project is anticipated to generate an annual income exceeding Rs 7.4 billion for the province.

Further, the cabinet approved additional compensation for land and built-up property based on an independent valuation study for the implementation of the 300MW Balakot Hydropower project on Kunhar River Manshera.

A decision was made to transition from manual registration books to automated motor vehicle registration smart cards. The Excise and Taxation Department had previously entered into an MOU with the National Security Printing Company (NSPC) of the federal government for the provision of registration certificates and supply of smart cards in 2022.

The cabinet was informed that the rates for these registration cards would be Rs574, in contrast to Rs1475 in Islamabad, Rs530 in Punjab, and Rs1600 in Sindh.

Moreover, the cabinet approved the allocation of Rs500 million from the defunct FATA Development Authority, along with an accumulated markup of Rs43 million, for the accelerated implementation program in the merged districts.

Land acquisition for the construction of the Judicial Complex at Panah Kotm Upper Dir was also endorsed, alongside the enactment of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Registration of Godown Rules 2022, as mandated by the KP Godown Registration Act 2021, to regulate and register warehouses, ensuring a comprehensive system for the stable supply and availability of goods.

The cabinet reapproved the provision of free and quality education from grade seven to twelve for talented students of government schools, with plans to double both the monthly scholarship amount and the number of deserving beneficiaries in the scheme from the next academic year, as proposed by the chief minister.

The cabinet emphasized ensuring that no student is deprived of education due to a lack of textbooks and related facilities, directing a study to compare the quality and cost of textbooks published by the government and private sectors. Additionally, the utilization of old textbooks was approved in the broader interest of the province’s populace.