LAHORE: The Punjab Education Department has introduced a new strategy for the distribution of free textbooks in government schools ahead of the new academic session, aiming to address longstanding supply issues faced by students and parents.
Under the revised plan, students from Grade 1 to Grade 3 will receive 100 percent new textbooks, while 80 percent of students in Grades 4 and 5 will be provided with new books. For students from Grade 6 to Grade 10, half of the enrolled students will receive new textbooks.
Officials said all Grade 10 students would be issued new books due to changes in the syllabus.
According to a notification issued by the department, students who do not receive new textbooks will be facilitated through a “Book Bank” system, under which reusable books collected from previous students will be redistributed.
Schools have been directed to collect used textbooks from outgoing students to support the initiative.
Authorities stated that new textbooks have already been delivered to district and tehsil warehouses across Punjab, and instructions have been issued to ensure distribution before the start of the new school session.
The department further directed schools to distribute books according to updated student enrollment data and emphasized transparent implementation to ensure that no student faces academic disruption due to lack of learning materials.
Govt employees to get electric bikes under new scheme
Meanwhile, the federal government has decided to provide electric bikes to government employees from Grade 1 to Grade 16 under a new self-financing scheme aimed at improving transportation facilities and promoting environmentally friendly commuting.
The sources told that the project will facilitate easy and clean energy modes to employees and will help overcome travel problems as well as environment pollutions.
According to the sources, under the proposed scheme, electric bikes can be acquired by the government employees without bearing any extra interest or markup charges. The payment for the bikes will be made through salary reductions so as to ease the burden on employees’ pockets.
The officials from the Ministry of Interior stated that the government was taking measures to conserve energy and facilitate clean energy solutions.
It has been clarified that applications will be invited for the scheme through respective departments, while more details would be shared shortly.
Moreover, a ‘first come, first serve basis’ has been taken into consideration in lieu of balloting. In other words, early applicants shall enjoy priority over other applicants.
Sources have pointed out that the scope of the scheme could be enlarged in future to accommodate armed forces personnel and provincial government employees as well.
