{
  "id": 18160708,
  "title": "Free Textbook Printing Drops 60% Despite Claims of 2.5 Million More Students in Punjab",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/free-textbook-printing-drops-60-despite-claims-of-2-5-million-more",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-11-04T17:59:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ProPakistani",
    "slug": "propakistani",
    "url": "https://propakistani.pk/2026/11/04/free-textbook-printing-drops-60-despite-claims-of-2-5-million-more-students-in-punjab/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Despite claims of 2.5 million additional students in Punjab, the printing of free textbooks for government schools has plummeted by approximately 60 percent. The 2022-23 academic year saw the production of over 60 million textbooks, but only 24.1 million are scheduled for the upcoming 2027-28 session, reported <source>. Meanwhile, enrollment in Punjab’s government schools has reportedly surpassed 10.5 million, as claimed by Provincial Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat, who inferred a 2.5 million increase in students. The revised printing plan anticipates the creation of around 14.8 million textbooks for primary classes, 4.3 million for grades 6 to 8, and 3.2 million for grades 9 and 10. The reduced printing demands are being addressed through the book bank system, which enables schools to reuse textbooks collected from previous students, according to officials from the Programme Monitoring and Implementation Unit (PMIU). Additionally, the outsourcing of several government schools has contributed to the decline in demand for freshly printed textbooks. This downward trend coincides with ongoing challenges in textbook supply. In September, newly enrolled students experienced delays in receiving free books after the summer break, and a separate report in October highlighted a shortage of roughly 839,000 textbooks, leading authorities to issue further printing allocations to bridge the gap.",
  "summary": "The printing of free textbooks for government schools in Punjab has declined sharply despite claims that student enrollment has increased … Read More The post Free Textbook Printing Drops 60% Despite Claims of 2.5 Million More Students in Punjab appeared first on ProPakistani .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}