K-P hikes education budget by 11%

Sehat Card funding rises to Rs35b; new hospitals planned

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has announced a significant increase in the education budget for the upcoming fiscal year, raising it from Rs327 billion to Rs363 billion — an 11 per cent increase from the current year.

To enhance facilities across schools, the provincial government has allocated special funds aimed at improving basic infrastructure. These funds will support the renovation of classrooms and the provision of educational materials in 32,500 schools, benefiting approximately 5.9 million students. Additional efforts will be made to promote extracurricular activities.

A sum of Rs1.593 billion has been earmarked for female teachers working in Girls' Community Schools. Furthermore, Rs8.545 billion has been set aside to provide free textbooks to students across the province.

A major development includes the establishment of a Girls Cadet College in Dera Ismail Khan. The government has also allocated Rs855 million for the preservation and restoration of 10 historic schools in the province.

The education plan for the next year sets an ambitious target to enroll 50 per cent of out-of-school children. To address the shortage of teachers, the government will utilize Parent-Teacher Councils (PTCs) with an allocation of Rs1 billion to support staffing needs.

The budget for higher education has also seen a significant boost — increased from Rs36 billion to Rs 50 billion. As part of the reforms, Rs2.772 billion will be used to convert public colleges into applied sciences and technology centers.

Additionally, five new colleges will be established at a cost of Rs3.5 billion. The budget for public universities has been more than tripled, rising from Rs3 billion to Rs10 billion. To further support academic excellence, the Higher Education Scholarship Endowment Fund has been increased by Rs1.24 billion.

This budget reflects the provincial government's commitment to strengthening both school and higher education systems across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Health Sector

The upcoming fiscal year's budget includes several significant initiatives for the healthcare sector in K-P. The budget for the Sehat Card Plus program has been increased from Rs28 billion to Rs35 billion, with an additional Rs6 billion allocated specifically for the provision of Sehat Cards in the newly merged districts.

An allocation of Rs1.2 billion has been made for over 2,500 Basic Health Units (BHUs) across rural and urban areas. The budget also includes the establishment of neonatal care centers in five districts, and the launch of satellite centers of the Peshawar Institute of Cardiology in Mardan and Bannu.

Further developments include the establishment of a nursing college in Chitral, the upgradation of the Category-D hospital in Sadda (Kurram district) to Category-C, and the restoration and reconstruction of the Daboori Hospital in Orakzai district.

These initiatives reflect the provincial government's commitment to expanding healthcare access and improving medical infrastructure across both settled and merged districts.