The Punjab government has approved a major overhaul of the school curriculum, promising to reduce textbook volume by 25 percent, introduce artificial intelligence education from Class I through Class XII, and attach QR codes to textbooks giving students access to video lessons. The decisions were taken at a special meeting on education reforms chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, reflecting a wider effort by the provincial government to shift classroom teaching away from rote memorisation toward concept based and technology assisted learning.
According to details presented at the meeting, the new curriculum will cover subjects including English, mathematics, Urdu, social studies, and early childhood education. The Punjab Education Curriculum, Training and Assessment Authority briefed the meeting on the proposed changes, describing its curriculum mandate as promoting deeper learning, higher order thinking, and innovation rather than simply revising textbook content. One of the most visible changes involves reducing the volume of material students must carry and study, with the government stating the reduction is intended to discourage rote learning and allow greater emphasis on understanding concepts, though the actual impact will depend on whether examination requirements and classroom assessments are adjusted accordingly.
The introduction of AI education from Class I through Class XII represents a substantial expansion of technology education, exposing children to AI concepts from the earliest years of schooling rather than limiting advanced digital learning to secondary or higher education. The chief minister directed officials to prepare an AI curriculum and stressed the need for accompanying laboratories, though officials will still need to determine how AI content is differentiated by age group, how teachers will be trained, and what infrastructure will be required before the programme can operate effectively across the province’s government schools. New textbooks will also include QR codes that students can scan to access video lessons related to specific topics, though the effectiveness of this system will depend on access to smartphones or other devices, internet connectivity, and the availability of quality digital material in schools and homes. The government has set a deadline to complete printing of the new textbooks before March next year.
The reform package extends beyond academic content, with the government introducing mental health training for teachers for the first time in Punjab, alongside consideration of placing visiting faculty psychologists in every district and developing online counselling facilities for students. The meeting also agreed in principle on legislation aimed at eliminating corporal punishment in schools, discussing the establishment of discipline corners in classrooms as an alternative to physical punishment. The government also agreed to dedicate one day every week to teacher training, with authors of the new textbooks training teachers directly in their use. Officials noted that progress had already been made in English language training, with 35,000 teachers across 31 tehsils in 12 districts completing the programme, as the broader success of the curriculum reforms will ultimately depend on execution across textbook printing, teacher preparation, laboratory availability, and digital access throughout Punjab’s public school system.
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