Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has introduced a series of transformative initiatives to uplift public education across the province. Among the major announcements is the launch of a van service for government school students and the introduction of “on-wheels Montessori schools”, aimed at increasing educational access, especially in underserved areas.
Chairing a high-level meeting of the School Education Department, the chief minister directed authorities to formulate a detailed plan for Punjab’s first structured school transport system, particularly to benefit children in remote locations.
The meeting also greenlit a School and Teacher of the Month award scheme. Performance will be evaluated based on discipline, teaching quality, lab facilities, and overall academic outcomes.
Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat provided updates on ongoing departmental efforts. He reported a 99% rise in student enrolment and a 114% increase in teaching staff via the public-private school outsourcing model. This initiative has already generated over 60,000 jobs for the province’s educated youth.
Punjab now boasts the world’s largest education-based public-private partnership, with 1.3 million students enrolled in just 16 months. In the upcoming year, 10,500 more schools are slated for outsourcing. The first phase drew 40,000 applications for 5,700 schools.
Significant infrastructure upgrades were also highlighted:
In select districts like Faisalabad, students in outsourced schools are receiving midday meals through community-based models. Over 70,000 furniture sets have also been provided to improve classroom environments.
Under the Punjab Education Endowment Fund (PEEF) Tech Schools pilot, technical institutions are being introduced, with plans to replicate them in rural areas. Meanwhile, an English Conversation Programme, aligned with IELTS Level 4, is being rolled out to benefit 300,000 students over six months.
To support early education, 10,000 classrooms for early childhood learning have already been equipped.
The Nawaz Sharif Centre of Excellence will expand its capacity from 240 to 1,500 students. A new School Meal Programme is set to launch in Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Lodhran, Bhakkar, Mianwali, and Bahawalnagar, with the planned inclusion of milk, biscuits, energy bars, and other nutritious items.
By year-end, hundreds of new classrooms and over 400 toilet blocks for girls’ schools are expected to be completed. Plans also include:
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz stressed the importance of high-quality teacher training and instructed that school entrances across Punjab be standardized to create a consistent and welcoming environment.
“Our mission is to make public schools in Punjab better than even the top private institutions,” she declared.