Sharif says 500,000 Chromebooks will go to students on merit alone

Pakistan will hand out 500,000 Chromebooks to students over the next two years, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said at the launch of the Prime Minister's Youth Chromebook Scheme in Islamabad, doubling down on a digital education push that also reaches religious seminaries.

Sharif said selection would rest on merit alone, regardless of a student's financial circumstances, and that the scheme covers students at schools, colleges, universities and seminaries. "These wonderful instruments will be in your hands so that you are not lagging in intelligence and skills," he said, adding that the devices would let students attend classes remotely, build digital skills and look for work.

He contrasted the timetable with earlier efforts, saying governments led by his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party had distributed 600,000 laptops over a decade, while the new programme aims for 500,000 Chromebooks in two years. In August he had announced plans to provide Chromebooks to 250,000 high-achieving students this year.

The announcement builds on a domestic manufacturing step: Pakistan launched its first Google Chromebook assembly line last year, which Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said at the time could support employment, supply-chain development and future technology exports. Sharif also cited the recent inauguration of a Daanish School in Islamabad, saying governments must prioritise education. "Education is a jewel; regardless of where you are from, it will always make you distinguished in society," he said.