ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training Wajiha Qamar on Thursday informed the Senate that under the Prime Minister’s Youth Laptop Scheme-IV, 100,000 laptops had been procured at a total cost of Rs16.8 billion.

Replying to questions during questions hour, the minister said the laptops were procured through an open competitive bidding process in accordance with the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Rules. The entire procurement process was conducted transparently and competitively, and in full compliance with PPRA regulations, she added.

She said the quota for Balochistan had been increased from 14pc to 18pc under the scheme, while five per cent share (2.5pc each) had been allocated to Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) and the Virtual University (VU).

Ms Qamar said the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) had already advertised 565 vacant teaching posts of different cadres through the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) for regular recruitment, and the process was underway as per the prescribed procedure.

Evening shifts have also been introduced in various institutions due to increased student enrolment and population growth in the federal capital.

She said a separate package was also being provided to staff teaching during the evening shift, adding that local teachers had also been engaged for this purpose.

The minister said 12 new institutions had been established and a letter had been written to the Ministry of Finance seeking sanction for teacher posts.

To a separate question, she said the government had taken several initiatives to address the issue of out-of-school children within the jurisdiction of the federal capital. As per the 7th Population Census, the total number of out-of-school children in the country stood at 25.73 million, she added.

Responding to another question, the minister said there were 946 non-formal education (NFE) centres operating under the administrative control of the Ministry of Federal Education. Around 30,394 students were enrolled in these NFE centres with 1,076 teachers, she said.

Meanwhile, Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar told the House that education and health had been devolved subjects under the 18th Constitutional Amendment. However, certain matters such as research centres have been retained in Islamabad, he added.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2026