The provincial government of Punjab has partnered with Google to offer 100,000 students free certification courses in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and business intelligence.

The courses, valued between 400 and 1,000 US dollars each, will run for three to six months and carry no cost for enrolled students in Punjab.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz chaired a meeting in Lahore where several major education decisions were formally approved for immediate implementation across the province.

The provincial government approved scholarships for 62,949 students simultaneously, marking the largest single scholarship award in the history of the province.

Billions of rupees have been allocated in phases to fund the Honhaar Scholarship Programme, with the Chief Minister directing that no eligible student be excluded.

Modern IT laboratories will be established in 166 government colleges across Punjab as part of a province-wide standardisation initiative for digital education.

For the first time, key performance indicators will be set for principals, teachers, university vice chancellors and institutions to measure educational outcomes.

Thirty-six commerce colleges across 29 districts will be formally affiliated with 19 public universities, offering 14 bachelor’s programmes including IT and e-commerce.

The Chief Minister approved an electric bus service for students and directed that minority and special-needs students be included in the second laptop scheme phase.

Over 38,000 students received laptops in the first phase, while 142,000 applications have already been submitted for the upcoming second phase distribution.

Grade 8 assessment results showed 994,000 students sat the exams, with female students recording a 92 percent pass rate against 84 percent for male students.

The Chief Minister noted satisfaction at female students occupying the top three positions in the provincial Grade 8 assessment results this year.

Authorities were also directed to take urgent action to improve the condition of educational institutions in Sargodha and several other underperforming areas.