The Punjab School Education Department has launched the fourth phase of its school outsourcing programme, with plans to hand over another 6,460 government schools across the province.
According to reports, the latest phase includes 5,860 primary and middle schools, while 600 high schools have also been proposed for outsourcing for the first time.
The proposal to include high schools comes amid concerns over poor infrastructure and declining student enrollment in government-run institutions.
The provincial government has already outsourced 13,600 schools during the first three phases of the programme.
After the completion of the fourth phase, the number of government-run schools in Punjab is expected to decline from around 38,000 to approximately 31,500.
The initiative aims to change the management of additional public schools as the provincial government expands its outsourcing programme across the education sector.
