The printing of free textbooks for government schools in Punjab is set to decline by approximately 60 percent, despite claims that student enrollment has increased by 2.5 million.
More than 60 million textbooks were printed for the 2022–23 academic year. However, the provincial government is planning to print only 24.1 million copies for the 2027–28 academic session.
The reduction comes as enrollment in Punjab’s government schools has reportedly crossed 10.5 million students. Provincial Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat has claimed that student enrollment has increased by 2.5 million.
Under the proposed printing plan, approximately 14.8 million textbooks will be produced for primary classes, 4.3 million for grades 6 to 8, and 3.2 million for grades 9 and 10.
Officials from the Programme Monitoring and Implementation Unit (PMIU) say the reduced printing requirement is linked to the book bank system, which allows schools to reuse textbooks returned by students at the end of the academic year. They also explained that the outsourcing of several government schools has reduced the demand for newly printed books.
The reduction has raised questions about textbook availability, particularly after students reportedly faced delays in receiving free books earlier this year. A separate report in October also highlighted a shortage of approximately 839,000 textbooks in Punjab.
The key concern is whether the existing book bank stock and planned printing will be sufficient to meet the needs of students across government schools in the coming academic session
