LAHORE – Punjab’s Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat on Tuesday warned that outsourcing government schools will become inevitable if educational outcomes do not improve. He emphasized that in areas where schools have already been outsourced, both quality and academic results have shown notable improvement.
Chairing a meeting of district education officers from the Lahore Division, the minister underscored the urgent need for reforms in the education system.
“We cannot continue with a system plagued by corruption, negligence, and absenteeism,” he said. “It’s time to fix the structure, and I urge all officers to work with me to set the education system on the right path.”
Calling Lahore a flagship district, he stressed that the city must lead by example. “Lahore should play a leading role in improving schools,” he stated.
Rana Sikandar Hayat outlined his vision of an education system where government schools are trusted once again by the public.
“We need to create a system where even you would willingly send your own children to government schools,” he told the officials.
He set an ambitious goal of having at least 100 government schools in every district with waiting lists for enrollment. To help achieve this, he announced that all schools in Lahore would receive their pending funds within the next two weeks.
The minister also urged officers to address resource shortages immediately, stating, “My doors are open for securing resources. There should be no delay in fixing the lack of facilities.”
He directed schools to make their computer and science labs fully functional and to focus on improving the quality of education, especially in STEM fields at the higher secondary level. He further announced that a reward system for high-performing schools, teachers and students would be introduced soon.
Rana Sikandar Hayat warned of surprise school visits and made it clear that the poor infrastructure and lack of basic amenities would not be tolerated. He also revealed that the teachers would no longer be burdened with non-teaching duties such as election responsibilities.
“Teachers must now focus solely on teaching and on equipping students with the modern skills and technology,” he added.
