Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat has enrolled his son in a government school in Kasur, where he studies alongside the children of school staff and teachers, signaling a commitment to public education reforms.
Sharing the decision on X, Hayat emphasised the importance of equality in education. The announcement drew praise on social media, with many calling it an initiative of “leading by example”.
“I am proud that my son studies alongside the children of our Naib Qasids and teachers,” Hayat wrote.
The move coincides with Punjab’s broader push to strengthen public education. The provincial government has allocated Rs661 billion for education, accounting for 24.4% of total non-development expenditures. An additional Rs148 billion has been earmarked for development in the coming fiscal year, a 127% increase over 2024-25.
Earlier, a special inspection squad deputed by Minister Hayat uncovered widespread manipulation in school enrollment records. Investigations revealed 1.8 million ‘ghost students,’ inflating figures and costing the exchequer an estimated Rs50 billion annually.
Led by School Education Secretary Khalid Nazir Wattoo and Education Task Force Chairman Mazammil Mehmood, unannounced inspections across districts, including Okara, Sahiwal, Pakpattan, and Mianwali, exposed fabricated data, missing facilities, misdeployed teachers, and administrative lapses.
Officials responsible for misreporting were reprimanded, suspended, or dismissed, and principals across the province have been warned that falsifying records will no longer be tolerated.
In response, the Punjab government has announced sweeping reforms; Rs10 billion worth of missing facilities to be delivered within 90 days, repairs to nearly 600 collapsing school buildings, construction of thousands of new classrooms within a year, and the enrollment of 1.1 million out-of-school children under the Punjab Education Foundation’s campaign.
Policy analysts and education officials note that previous failures were not due to funding shortages but systemic falsification of data. “As long as the system survives on fake numbers, the children of Punjab will continue to suffer,” said one official, underlining the need for administrative accountability and genuine investment in public education.
News Published in Express Tribune on October 22nd, 2025.
