After transferring thousands of public schools to private management, the Punjab government has now begun the process of outsourcing government colleges, sparking strong resistance from teachers’ associations across the province.
Punjab runs about 750 colleges, and in the first phase, 100 institutions — including both commerce colleges in Rawalpindi — are being handed over to private organizations as part of the provincial education outsourcing initiative.
Official data shows that the government has already outsourced 12,500 public schools, and starting November 1, another 7,000 primary and middle schools, along with several high and higher secondary schools, will be included in the next round. Schools with fewer than 100 students will be handed over first, while staffing levels will be adjusted according to enrollment numbers.
Defending the move, Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat said the government cannot justify spending Rs. 300,000 per student annually at commerce colleges. He added that the government plans to establish state-of-the-art commerce colleges equipped with modern laboratories and up to 400 computers to improve learning standards and align with market demands.
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The government targets March 31, 2026, for the completion of the school and college privatization drive, ahead of the new academic session. However, teachers’ unions have rejected the plan, announcing strikes, sit-ins, and province-wide protests, calling it an attempt to commercialize public education.
