LAHORE: The Punjab government has announced an ambitious plan to introduce three mobile projects to provide educational opportunities to children in remote and underserved areas.
Provincial Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat said that electric rickshaws with solar panels on their roofs would be utilised for the “School on Wheels” project.
Under the project, a teacher would set up folding chairs under an umbrella-like canopy in streets, neighborhoods or settlements. He said that children would be provided with books, painting supplies and various educational toys to keep them engaged. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has given in-principle approval for the project.
In line with the chief minister’s “Parrho Gay Tou Barho Gay” (If you read, you will progress) vision, the School Education Department will also launch two mobile library projects.
The minister said that the “Library on Wheels” project would operate from cartoon-adorned mini-vans, traveling to various areas to offer children access to a diverse range of books, including those beyond their curriculum. These vans would be stationed in any open field, ground, or public space, he added.
Additionally, he said a “Mobile Library” project would feature a state-of-the-art bus transformed into a library, complete with chairs and tables for children. This mobile library would stock books in Urdu, English along with magazines.
Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2025
