PM Shehbaz Sharif Announces Reforms and Free Lunch Program for Islamabad Schools

What Happened

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting regarding the improvement of education quality in the federal capital. During this meeting, he announced the activation of a free lunch program for students in government schools to ensure proper nutrition [1, 2, 3].

The Prime Minister issued several directives for the urgent implementation of reforms in Islamabad’s government schools, specifically targeting the following areas:

• Infrastructure and Facilities: Authorities must address infrastructure problems on an emergency basis using available resources [1, 2]. This includes installing ramps in all institutions for students with physical disabilities, promoting solar energy (solarisation), and providing quality medical facilities [2, 3].
• Teaching and Learning: The Prime Minister ordered the installation of smart boards in all government schools as soon as possible [1, 2]. He also directed that teachers should focus exclusively on teaching and educational activities rather than unrelated duties [1, 3].
• Administration and Staffing: A strategy is to be formulated to transform the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) into a more effective and efficient institution [1, 2]. Furthermore, the Prime Minister directed that all teacher recruitment must be conducted strictly on merit [1, 2].
• Transportation: To improve access to education, the Prime Minister called for the expansion of the government school bus service [1, 3]. He also directed that student transportation services be outsourced, subject to third-party validation [1, 2].

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has been instructed to ensure that all identified issues are resolved within a one-week timeframe [2, 3].

A survey conducted in accordance with directions issued in September 2026 reported that most government schools in Islamabad already possess basic facilities such as computer laboratories, clean drinking water, and internet connectivity, though infrastructure issues were identified in some institutions [2]. Currently, 278 government buses are operating to transport students in Islamabad [1, 2]. Following the Prime Minister’s meeting, officials from the education ministry, FDE, and Capital Development Authority (CDA) met, with the CDA deciding to immediately undertake repair and maintenance work [3].