Pakistan’s classrooms took a digital step forward on Sunday as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched the PM Youth Chromebook Scheme in Islamabad, a programme that will place a Chromebook and an internet device in the hands of 500,000 students across the country over the next two years. The first devices were handed over at the ceremony itself, to high performing Grade 9 students and to students from religious seminaries who had earned their place through examination results.
The devices are refurbished Chromebooks, and each one comes with a MiFi internet device, so a student’s learning does not stop at the school gate or depend on a connection at home. The prime minister told the ceremony that poverty should never stand between a talented young person and a good education, and he described access to modern technology as a responsibility of the state. Because every connection can be shared at home, the government estimates the scheme’s internet access could reach around 2.5 million family members in total.
At the launch ceremony, attended by ministers, educationists, vice chancellors and ambassadors, the prime minister shared the stories behind the first recipients. They included Syed Shams Raza, a student living in an orphanage whose father was a martyr, and Alma Mahak, a dedicated student from a madrassah, both recognised purely for their hard work in the classroom. Federal Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui told the gathering that turning Pakistan’s 150 million young people into a productive national asset is the central challenge and opportunity for the country, while TT Care Foundation Chairman Rashid Minhas said the partnership aims to help students become creators in the digital world.
How the PM Youth Chromebook Scheme will choose its students
The entry ticket is simple: results. The scheme is being run by the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training together with the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, and students will be ranked on their latest SSC-I (Grade 9) scores from the Annual Examinations 2026. Those records will be verified by the Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC), students must score at least 50 percent, and selection will run inside each province or region, board and stream until the local quota is filled. Students can check their record and apply through the official portal at pmychromebooks.ibcc.edu.pk.
Education ministry officials say the net is cast wide. Students at public schools are eligible, along with pupils at private schools funded through provincial education foundations and students of registered madaris, who will be vetted separately with the Directorate General of Religious Education. The devices themselves will be supplied by the TT Care Foundation under a letter of understanding with the government. It is a welcome addition to a year in which young Pakistanis keep rewarding belief in their talent, from the classroom wins celebrated at home to the team that saw Pakistani students win second prize at the Belt and Road Business Challenge in China.
Every province and region gets its share
The 500,000 devices are divided across the whole country. Punjab receives the largest share with 181,090 Chromebooks, followed by Islamabad with 100,000, Sindh with 85,925, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 51,170 and Balochistan with 31,815, while Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan receive 25,000 each. Inside every province or region, four of every five devices are reserved for school students and one of every five for madaris students, and among school students the split is 70 percent for science students and 30 percent for arts students.
From the merit list to the student’s doorstep
Officials say the safeguards run from the merit list to the doorstep. Once lists are final, each device will be linked to its recipient by serial number and checked against merit, enrolment, school affiliation and delivery details. Devices will then travel directly to verified students by courier, and a central monitoring system will track every dispatch, delivery, failed attempt and receipt confirmation. Grievance committees at board and provincial level will handle complaints about ranking, inclusion in the lists or devices that do not arrive, and repair and maintenance support will follow through a contracted firm after the first year of delivery.
A head start in Pakistan’s digital story
For a teenager who has never owned a laptop, a Chromebook opens e-libraries, recorded lessons and remote learning that were previously out of reach, and it builds the digital confidence that later carries students toward milestones such as the one celebrated when Quaid-i-Azam University held its place in the world’s top 400 universities. The prime minister recalled at the launch that earlier governments had distributed 600,000 laptops over a decade, and set this scheme the faster target of half a million devices in two years.
The opportunity on the other side of that skills ladder is real, as shown by the quarter in which Pakistan’s freelancers earned $550 million from clients around the world. If the PM Youth Chromebook Scheme delivers on its design, with fair selection, verified delivery and working internet in every box, it will give half a million hard working students the same starting tool that so many success stories begin with: a computer of their own.
Sources
- The News, 0.5m students to get Chromebooks: PM (launch report, 26 October 2026)
- The News, PM Chromebooks scheme: Premier says 500,000 devices to be distributed in two years
- The News, PM Chromebook scheme opens door to digital learning (scheme design, quotas and delivery detail)
- Dawn, Students across country to get 500,000 Chromebooks over 2 years, announces PM Shehbaz (via Investify)
- PhoneWorld, 500,000 Chromebooks in Two Years: What the PM Youth Chromebook Scheme Offers Students (eligibility and IBCC portal)
- Featured photo: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hands a Chromebook kit to a student at the launch ceremony in Islamabad. Photo: Prime Minister’s Office (@PakPMO) via X
Umar is an engineer by profession and a passionate writer by passion. He has a deep interest in sharing good news related to Pakistan and has been working hard to promote the positive image of his homeland. Umar has written numerous articles on various topics related to Pakistan, such as technology, sports, culture, and economy.