Punjab School Education Department is set to launch a Rs6.87 billion school meal programme next month, extending nutritional support to more than a million public school students.
The initiative, formally approved by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, will cover 7,294 schools and forms part of the broader push to improve student retention and nutrition in under-resourced districts.
Under the programme, an estimated 1,028,000 students will be given milk three days a week, with biscuits added on the fourth day to supplement their diet. Officials say the scheme is designed to encourage school attendance while addressing malnutrition among children in rural and economically vulnerable areas.
The rollout will take place across 13 districts in the current fiscal year, marking the latest phase of an expansion that began on a much smaller scale. The programme was first piloted in three districts during 2023-24 before being scaled up to 13 districts in 2024-25.
This year’s coverage will match that footprint, with milk and biscuits reaching schools in Bahawalnagar, Bhakkar, Chiniot, Dera Ghazi Khan, Kot Addu, Layyah, Lodhran, Mianwali, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Taunsa and Vehari.
The steady district-by-district expansion of the programme suggests the provincial government intends to eventually extend meal coverage to schools across Punjab, though officials have not yet outlined a timeline for reaching the remaining districts.
