Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has taken landmark steps in the education sector, resulting in the successful outsourcing of more than 11,000 schools across the province.

This initiative has led to a significant increase in student enrollment, with a record 1.1 million out-of-school children enrolled in a short period — a first in the province’s history.

During a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Minister, key decisions were made regarding the improvement of educational infrastructure and facilities. A detailed briefing on ongoing and proposed school education projects was presented.

Maryam Nawaz appreciated the Punjab Education Foundation for achieving the historic milestone of enrolling 1.1 million children and instructed the School Management Councils to ensure the provision of essential facilities within 90 days using Rs 10 billion in allocated funds.

Maryam announces Nawaz Sharif Internet City in Lahore

She directed the construction of required classrooms in all schools within a year and ordered the reconstruction and rehabilitation of 580 dilapidated and 2,770 deteriorated school buildings. The government has also set a target to provide spoken English training to 500,000 public school students through certified English trainers.

Furthermore, the scope of the school meal program will be expanded to other districts and tehsils based on the rate of child malnutrition. The Chief Minister announced the establishment of “Nawaz Sharif Schools of Eminence” for both boys and girls in every district, equipped with modern educational amenities including IT labs, science labs, libraries, smart boards, and multi-purpose playgrounds.

Over the next five years, 1,750 schools will be upgraded, with 250 of these upgrades scheduled for the next fiscal year. Plans were also unveiled for 300 new Tech-Ed schools in 10 tehsils of Punjab.

As part of the infrastructure enhancement in outsourced schools, 195 classrooms were constructed, roofs of 397 rooms were repaired, 254,538 square feet of boundary walls were built, and 414 toilets and 1,543 water tanks were installed.

The meeting also reviewed a proposal to establish Nawaz Sharif Centers of Excellence for Early Childhood Education in all nine divisions of Punjab. Additional plans include the construction of 4,327 boundary walls, 4,066 toilets, 8,488 furniture units, and installation of 100 water filtration plants in various schools.

Maryam Nawaz emphasized that improving children’s education remains a top priority. She reiterated the importance of essential facilities like toilets in all schools and stated that efforts are underway to install solar power systems to address energy needs in educational institutions.