Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) Chairperson Dr Sohail Munir chaired a high-level consultative meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFEPT), Daanish Schools, and education and artificial intelligence (AI) experts to explore how AI and advanced digital technologies can be integrated into the education system, according to a post by PDA on LinkedIn. The meeting focused on advancing the prime minister’s directive for an AI-based personalised curriculum and adaptive learning system. Daanish School Kuri in Islamabad will serve as the initial pilot campus. MoFEPT and Daanish Schools will lead the initiative, while PDA will provide technical facilitation, expert support, and guidance.
The attendees included PDA Chief of Staff Sophia Hasnain, Dr Henna Karamat Durrani, who is Executive Director of the National Digital Innovation Lab (Education) and Education Sector Lead at PDA, and MoFEPT Deputy Secretary Shah Jehan. Asghar Awan, Principal of Daanish School Kuri, and Dr Tabassum Naz, Director Curriculum, also took part, along with AI experts. Discussions centred on digital student profiles that go beyond grades to cover personalised learning, well-being, aptitude, and growth. The participants also looked at AI-assisted teaching, learning platforms, teacher training, and integrated learning management systems, and at how international education models, such as Singapore’s, could be adapted to Pakistan. The post does not say how student data would be collected or protected, or what role teachers would have in using the profiles.
Daanish Schools are the prime minister’s flagship initiative for talented students from underserved backgrounds, with free education and merit-based admission. At the first meeting of the Daanish Authority Board on 29 July, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed that information technology, AI, and robotics be made part of the curriculum in consultation with the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, and the board was told that 29 schools were proposed nationwide, 15 had been approved, and construction was under way at 13 locations, while classes had already started at Daanish School Kuri. A revised project cost of about Rs7 billion was approved for the Kuri campus in April, including a girls’ hostel and staff housing, according to The Nation. On 31 October, the prime minister chaired a review in Lahore and again directed officials to adopt AI and IT-based teaching methods, according to Samaa TV and Radio Pakistan.
PDA described the meeting as part of its work under the National Digital Masterplan to support sector-led digital transformation that improves the lives of ordinary citizens, and said that supporting innovation in initiatives such as Daanish Schools helps show how technology can reduce inequality. The announcement does not give a timeline for the pilot, say when students at Kuri will begin using the adaptive system, or name the platform or vendors that might supply it. It also does not say how the pilot will be evaluated before any wider rollout, so the results at Kuri will matter for whether the approach is extended to the other Daanish campuses now under construction.
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