The printing of free textbooks for government schools in Punjab has declined sharply despite claims that student enrollment has increased by 2.5 million.
According to reports, more than 60 million textbooks were printed during the 2022–23 academic year. However, only 24.1 million copies are planned for the 2027–28 session, representing a decline of around 60 percent.
The figures come as enrollment in Punjab’s government schools has reportedly crossed 10.5 million, while Provincial Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat has claimed an increase of 2.5 million students.
Under the new printing plan, around 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 requirements are being managed through the book bank system, which allows schools to reuse textbooks collected from previous students.
They added that the outsourcing of several government schools has also reduced demand for newly printed textbooks.
The decline comes amid existing textbook supply problems in Punjab. In September, newly enrolled students reportedly faced delays in receiving free books after the summer holidays.
A separate report in October highlighted a shortage of approximately 839,000 textbooks, prompting authorities to issue additional printing allocations to address the gap.
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