Punjab is set to print far fewer free textbooks for its government schools in the coming session, even though officials say the number of children in those schools has risen sharply. The contrast between the two claims is now at the centre of a growing debate about whether schools will have enough books when pupils need them most.
According to the latest figures, only 24.1 million textbooks are planned for the 2027-28 session. That is a steep fall from the more than 60 million copies printed during the 2022-23 academic year, a decline of around 60 percent. For a system serving millions of children, a reduction on that scale changes how many new books reach classrooms and how quickly shortages can be filled.
The new plan breaks the total down by stage. Around 14.8 million textbooks are earmarked for primary classes, 4.3 million for grades six to eight, and 3.2 million for grades nine and ten. The largest share goes to the youngest pupils, who are least able to share, borrow, or work around a missing book. Older pupils are more likely to be covered partly through reused copies, although that still leaves questions about condition, completeness, and whether the right edition reaches the right classroom.
The fall in printing comes as enrolment in Punjab’s government schools is reported to have crossed 10.5 million. Provincial Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat has claimed an increase of 2.5 million students. Taken together, the province is therefore planning fewer new books for a larger school population. That is the tension parents, teachers, and education watchers are now asking officials to explain in detail.
Officials from the Programme Monitoring and Implementation Unit have offered two main explanations. The first is the book bank system, under which textbooks collected from pupils who have finished with them are reused by the next group. The second is the outsourcing of several government schools, which officials say has reduced demand for newly printed textbooks. Both arguments rest on the idea that a book need not be printed again if a usable copy already exists. That works only if collection, checking, storage, and redistribution are done thoroughly, and reused books are fit to last another school year.
The book bank idea is not new in Punjab. Schools have previously collected usable textbooks from pupils moving up a grade so those books could be passed on, with full new provision for the youngest classes and grade ten and a lower share of new books for middle grades. Supporters say the model saves money and reduces waste. Critics say it can leave pupils with torn pages or outdated editions, and burdens schools that must sort large quantities of second-hand stock.
The latest figures do not arrive in isolation. In September, newly enrolled students reportedly faced delays in receiving free books after the summer holidays, while the enrolment campaign was still under way. In October, a separate report highlighted a shortage of approximately 839,000 textbooks, prompting authorities to issue additional printing allocations to close the gap. Those allocations covered 18 textbook titles, but no confirmed timeline was given for when the additional copies would reach schools. That history shows the system was already struggling to match supply with demand in some grades and subjects before the new, lower printing plan.
The wider context makes the stakes clearer. Free textbooks are one of the few direct forms of support reaching almost every child in government schools. For families on low incomes, a free set of books can be the difference between keeping up with lessons and falling behind while waiting for a copy. When books arrive late, pupils share, copy notes, or rely on older editions, none of which reliably replaces having the correct book at the start of term.
There is also a constitutional dimension. Article 25-A of Pakistan’s Constitution requires the state to provide free and compulsory education to children aged five to sixteen. Textbooks are not the whole of that promise, but they are a central part of it in practice. A child who is enrolled but has no book is still, in a meaningful sense, only partly served by the system. That is why officials are pressed to show not just that books have been allocated on paper, but that they have arrived in classrooms.
The government will therefore need to answer practical questions as the 2027-28 session approaches. How many usable books does the book bank system actually hold, grade by grade and subject by subject? How will damaged copies be replaced, and how quickly? What if enrolment rises further, or outsourcing does not reduce demand as expected? Clear, published answers would reassure parents more than a single headline figure.
For now, the figures tell a stark story. Printing is down by around three-fifths from the 2022-23 level, while the government says enrolment is up by millions. The official explanation is reuse and outsourcing. Whether that holds in practice will be tested not in announcements, but in classrooms, when the new session begins and teachers count how many pupils are sitting without a book in front of them.
