Funds set aside to nudge joint venture in education

The Punjab government allocated Rs42.5 billion for school education and Rs17 billion for higher education in its annual development budget for 2024-25.

New initiatives, plans and projects announced in the budget include the CM laptop scheme, meal in government schools, provision of missing facilities, upgrade of schools, construction of IT labs, digital attendance of teachers and construction of universities and colleges.

Of the Rs42.5 billion allocated for the school education department in the development budget, Rs5.5 billion was allocated for an initiative of outsourcing government schools.

In addition, Rs26.25 billion was allocated for private participation in the sector through the Punjab Education Foundation.

The government allocated Rs2.5 billion for Punjab Danish Schools and Centre of Excellence Authority.

The budget documents showed that Rs250 million was set aside for upgrading primary schools to the elementary level.

The government allocated Rs200 million for the provision of missing facilities in schools, including boundary walls, drinking water, electricity and toilets.

It allocated Rs100 million for upgrading elementary schools to high schools and Rs200 million for repairing dangerous school buildings in the province.

The provincial government allocated Rs100 million for setting up IT labs in high and higher secondary schools.

The Punjab government for the first time launched a school meal program in the government educational institutions and allocated Rs1 billion for implementing it.

It allocated Rs670 million to construct a modern autism school in Lahore.

An amount of Rs1 billion was allocated to set up daycare centres in the girls schools.

Of the Rs17 billion higher education budget, the government intends to spend Rs6 billion on the laptop scheme for students. An allocation was also proposed for building a Government Degree College in Khuddian in Kasur district, while Rs100 million was allocated for a biometric attendance system in the government colleges. A plan to open a university in Murree was also included in the development budget.

An amount of Rs7 billion was allocated for providing facilities in the public sector colleges, Rs10 million for the Lahore Knowledge Park and Rs2.5 billion for undergraduate scholarships.