PESHAWAR, Sept 23, 2025: Provincial Minister for Education Faisal Khan Tarakai announced that the government will provide all schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with furniture and whiteboards to permanently eliminate the traditional “mat culture.”
He made the announcement while chairing a high-level meeting on the Education Department’s Good Governance Roadmap in Peshawar.He said the government will also supply free school bags to every child under a comprehensive procurement plan.
The plan will track inventory at the school, district, directorate, and secretariat levels to maintain transparency and ensure quality in distribution.
Mr Tarakai instructed officials to explore a centralized procurement system and prioritize merged districts and girls’ schools in the first phase. He also directed them to establish IT laboratories in all higher secondary schools and gradually expand the facilities to high and middle schools in accordance with government policy.
Special Secretaries, Education Advisor Mian Saaduddin, Director Education Naheed Anjum, Director DPD Muzaffar Khan, and other senior officials attended the meeting and briefed the minister on ongoing reforms and development projects across the province.
The minister approved extending the ongoing school admission campaign until October 15 and instructed district education officers to run vigorous enrollment drives in their areas. He also introduced the “Taleem Card” initiative, which will provide students with free books, scholarships, stipends, and other facilities. The government will first pilot the programme and later expand it to all districts.
Mr Tarakai directed authorities to finalize the Parents-Teachers Council (PTC) guidelines immediately and submit them to the cabinet for approval. He ordered the reactivation of all PTCs and the conduction of re-elections wherever terms had expired. He also announced that the government will organize province-wide sports tournaments and instructed officials to complete them by November in consultation with the Sports Department.
Officials informed the minister that they are working to ensure at least four teachers in every primary school, with ETEA recruitments nearing completion. The government will hire additional teachers with UNICEF’s support and induct 2,500 interns into the education system to meet staffing needs.
The minister instructed authorities to reassign deputed or long-leave teachers to schools, emphasizing that providing quality education to children remains the top priority. He also ordered the installation of biometric machines in schools to monitor the attendance of teaching and clerical staff.
To motivate educators, he announced that the government will hold special events in every district to recognize and reward the best-performing teachers.