Punjab’s School Education Department has approved the fourth phase of Punjab schools outsourcing, covering 6,460 government schools across the province. The phase includes 600 high schools for the first time, alongside 5,860 primary and middle schools. Teachers’ organisations and parents have condemned the decision and demanded that it be withdrawn.
The latest report, published by The Express Tribune on Tuesday, October 27, adds new detail to a plan first reported earlier in October. The new report sets out what happens next: small schools will close, admissions will stop on a fixed date, and a province-wide census of schools and pupils must be completed within two days.
What Punjab schools outsourcing covers in phase 4
The fourth phase covers 6,460 schools in total. Of these, 5,860 are primary and middle schools, and 600 are high schools for boys and girls. High schools enter the programme for the first time in this phase, which is the main change from the three phases before it.
The department has already completed the outsourcing of 13,600 schools in the first three phases. Phase 4 therefore takes the total number of schools handed to private operators past 20,000.
The new report also states that all schools with enrolment of up to 100 pupils will be closed. It does not say how many schools fall under that limit, or where those pupils will go, which matters for families in small rural schools, where the nearest alternative may be some distance away.
Why teachers object to the plan
Teachers’ organisations and parents have strongly condemned the decision. They said the policy had already increased the number of children leaving school, and they warned that adding high schools would push more pupils out, especially girls in rural areas.
Punjab Teachers Union central president Sufi Ramzan Inqalabi, Education Pensioners Association secretary Shafiq Bhalwalia and former Headmasters Association president Dr Sagheer Alam spoke against it. They said high schools had extensive building areas, warned that regular teachers would be declared surplus and replaced by daily-wage staff on lump-sum salaries, and said teachers’ organisations would protest with non-teaching staff.
Staffing pressure has been a constant theme in this debate. Teachers in the province have already rejected enrolment targets set for public schools, and the new phase adds a fresh dispute over who teaches in outsourced schools.
Admissions deadline and a 48-hour school census
The department has decided that new admissions in government schools will continue until October 31. A ban on admissions will then apply from November 1. Orders have gone to all school heads to complete the admission process by October 31.
At the same time, the Punjab government has approved a census of schools and students across the province and sought complete data from all district education officers. The Director of Public Instruction (Secondary Education), Punjab, has instructed the chief executive officers of all district education authorities to complete the work within 48 hours.
The circular covers five categories: student data (enrolment and personal particulars, with fake or duplicate entries to be removed at once); teaching and non-teaching staff (sanctioned posts and vacancies); infrastructure (dangerous buildings, classrooms, boundary walls and facilities); academic data (grades, sections and student distribution); and all remaining indicators.
The Director of Public Instruction has warned that all pending verification must be completed within 48 hours and that no negligence will be tolerated. The census will give the department a verified picture of enrolment and staffing just as the fourth phase moves ahead, but the two-day deadline leaves district officers little room for error.
How the outsourcing programme works
The programme runs through the Punjab Education Foundation under the Public Schools Reorganisation Programme. Private organisations and individuals take over the management of government schools while following standards set by the Punjab government, with the stated aims of raising enrolment, strengthening administration, improving learning outcomes and providing better facilities. The programme’s official portal records that phase 3 has been completed and that applicants across Punjab have been waiting for the phase 4 announcement, which the latest report now confirms.
What happens next
Three dates now shape the story. District education officers must complete the school and student census within 48 hours. Admissions in government schools close on October 31, with a ban from November 1. Teachers’ organisations plan a protest against the decision, coordinated with non-teaching staff.
