PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Department has significantly increased its education budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2025–26 as the Elementary and Secondary Education allocation has been raised by 11% compared to last year, reaching Rs. 363 billion, up from Rs. 327 billion in 2024–25.
In a major policy move, the government has declared an “Education Emergency” to improve literacy rates and bring more out-of-school children into the educational system. A special allocation of Rs. 5 billion has been set aside to implement this initiative.
The provincial government has also earmarked substantial funds to upgrade basic facilities in public schools, aiming to benefit approximately 32,500 schools across the province. These improvements will impact the learning environment of nearly 5.9 million students, supporting classroom renovations, the provision of educational materials, and the promotion of extracurricular activities such as sports and school events.
For the continued provision of free textbooks, an amount of Rs. 8.545 billion has been allocated. Furthermore, a Girls’ Cadet College will be constructed in Dera Ismail Khan at an estimated cost of Rs. 3 billion, aiming to enhance girls’ access to quality education in the southern districts.
To preserve the educational heritage of the province, the government has introduced a Rs. 855 million plan for the restoration of 10 historical schools. A key target set for the 2025–26 fiscal year is to enroll at least 50% of the out-of-school children. To address the shortage of teachers in many schools, Rs. 1 billion has been allocated to hire temporary teachers through Parent-Teacher Councils (PTCs).
The Higher Education sector has also seen a considerable boost. The budget for higher education has been raised by 39%, from Rs. 36 billion to Rs. 50 billion.
According to the budget documents, funding for public universities has increased from Rs. 3 billion to Rs. 10 billion. In addition, the government has initiated plans to construct five new colleges for Rs. 3.5 billion, although the specific districts where these colleges will be established have not yet been disclosed.
Another Rs. 2.772 billion has been allocated to transform existing public colleges into Applied Science and Technology Centers, aiming to align higher education with modern employment demands.
The Scholarship Endowment Fund has received an increase of Rs. 1.24 billion to expand educational opportunities for deserving students. Additionally, a new program has been introduced to provide free education to orphaned and financially disadvantaged female students in government colleges across the province.
The documents also highlight that during the previous fiscal year (2024–25), the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)–led government released Rs. 4.6 billion in financial support to public universities. A further Rs. 4.9 billion in development funds were disbursed to enhance higher education, resulting in the establishment of several new degree colleges in districts such as Upper Dir, Charsadda, Nowshera, Abbottabad, Lakki Marwat, Swat, Kohat, Karak, Bannu, and Buner.
Moreover, BS program blocks have been completed in five colleges, enabling them to offer full bachelor’s degree programs. In the newly merged tribal districts, Rs. 1.552 billion has been allocated for the construction, development, and rehabilitation of colleges, continuing efforts to bridge the educational gap in formerly underserved regions.
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