LAHORE: The Punjab government on Tuesday allocated Rs750 billion for the education sector in its 2026-27 annual budget, including funds for schools, colleges and universities.

The government claimed that the allocation, constituting around 15 percent of the provincial budget, was aimed at improving educational infrastructure, promoting digital learning, enhancing access to quality education and supporting students across the province.

Budget documents show that the School Education Department (SED) has been allocated Rs600.78bn for current expenditure and Rs13.18bn for development schemes. Of the allocation, Rs570.52bn has been earmarked for grants and subsidies to district education authorities and public schools.

The Higher Education Department (HED) has been allocated Rs83.48bn for current expenditure and Rs11.15bn for development projects. An amount of Rs68.72bn has been set aside for employee-related expenses, including salaries and benefits.

Rs37bn cut in development budget; laptop scheme will continue

Overall, the education sector will receive around Rs63.3bn under the development budget and Rs686.8bn under non-development expenditure. Last year the development allocation was Rs100bn, showing Rs 37bn decrease in allocation for the next fiscal.

On of the government’s major initiatives – the Chief Minister’s Laptop Programme – will get an amount of Rs10bn, to be spent on distribution of 110,000 laptops among students. The Hunarmand Scholarship Programme has been expanded with an allocation of Rs20bn, which is expected to benefit more than 100,000 students. Another Rs40bn has been proposed for Nawaz Sharif Centres of Excellence and STEM-related programmes.

The budget also proposes Rs6.9bn allocation for the establishment of 244 information technology (IT) laboratories in higher secondary institutions and colleges to strengthen digital learning facilities.

Under the School Meal Programme, nutritious milk will continue to be provided to around 1.12 million students in 13 districts.

The government has also proposed establishing autism schools in every division of Punjab, following the launch of a specialised institution in Lahore. An allocation of Rs4.5bn has been proposed for the initiative.

On the development side, budget documents show that Rs7bn has been earmarked for transfers and Rs6bn for grants, while a significant share of development spending has been allocated for construction and transport-related projects aimed at improving educational infrastructure.

Punjab Minister for Schools and Higher Education Rana Sikandar Hayat has termed the proposed allocation as a record investment in education, saying it would strengthen access, quality and student support at school, college and university levels.

He says the budget reflects the provincial government’s commitment to expanding educational opportunities through scholarships, digitisation, university support and modern facilities for students.

However, academics say the key challenge facing the sector remains inadequate investment in core academic infrastructure, teacher development and institutional sustainability. Public universities in Punjab have repeatedly expressed concerns over financial shortfalls and delayed releases of funds, warning that the higher education institutions are struggling to meet their operational expenses.

They also note that Punjab will continue to face the challenge of millions of out-of-school children, overcrowded classrooms and infrastructure deficits in public schools.

They say the technology-focused initiatives and student support schemes may bring improvements in educational outcomes, require greater investment in classrooms, teachers, research and institutional capacity.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2026