Pakistan’s economic managers have advised the education ministry to explore public-private partnership models to ensure sustainability and continuity of development projects.
During discussions in a recent meeting, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet observed that reliance solely on government funds may be challenging in the future and advised the Ministry of Federal Education to assess public-private tie-up models.
The observation came while considering the approval of additional funds amounting to over Rs5 billion through a technical supplementary grant during fiscal year 2025-26.
The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training informed the ECC that, pursuant to the prime minister’s directives, Daanish Schools were being established in Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). These projects have been approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and are in the implementation phase.
Daanish Schools are being set up in Sultanabad (Jural), Astore, Ghanche, Khob, Sibi, Musa Khel, Sherani, Zhob, Killa Saifullah, Lower Chitral, Karachi, Tando Bula Khan, Shardara and other locations.
The education ministry informed the meeting that the total approved cost of the project was Rs37.3 billion while an amount of Rs22.2 billion had been utilised up to June 2025. The current year’s allocation under the PSDP is Rs8 billion, out of which Rs1.36 billion has been utilised. “Progress on the Daanish Schools project is on a fast track,” it said.
In accordance with the prime minister’s directives, two schools will be completed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Bagh and Samahni) by the end of March 2026, while substantial progress on other projects will be achieved by June 30. However, the allocated funds are not sufficient to achieve the desired level of progress.
The ministry apprised the forum that, as indicated by the prime minister, the total project cost was Rs15.03 billion, out of which Rs10.7 billion had been utilised up to June 2025.
It said that during a review meeting chaired by the premier, the issue of shortage of funds was highlighted. Consequently, the PM constituted a committee under the chairmanship of the minister for planning, development and special initiatives to identify savings within the overall PSDP allocations to bridge the funding shortfall for projects being implemented under the PM’s directives.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Planning, with the approval of the committee, conveyed the identified savings for adjustment in the PSDP.
The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training solicited approval of the ECC for the allocation of the surrendered amount of Rs5.8 billion.
The ECC was told that the Cabinet Division had surrendered Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation’s (PIDC) budget amounting to Rs170.4 million, vide letter dated October 28, 2025. Subsequently, a request regarding the transfer of PIDC’s budget was forwarded to the Finance Division through the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination. The Finance Division gave approval for the transfer of PIDC’s budget of Rs170.4 million.
The ECC considered a summary submitted by the Ministry of Federal Education titled “Approval for Additional Funds of Rs5,760 million through a technical supplementary grant during FY 2025-26” and gave the green light to the proposal.Latest News, Breaking News & Top News Stories | The Express TribuneZAFAR BHUTTARead More
