PM Chromebook scheme: 500,000 free laptops for Class 9 students, 181,090 for Punjab

The PM laptop scheme is back in a new form: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday launched the Prime Minister's Youth Chromebook Scheme in Islamabad, under which 500,000 refurbished Chromebooks will go free to high-scoring Grade 9 students across Pakistan. Students do not apply: they are picked from their SSC-I (Class 9) marks, and the device is sent to their home by courier.

Who qualifies for a free Chromebook

The rules, as set out by the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training and reported by Geo News and ProPakistani:

1. At least 50% marks in your latest SSC-I (Class 9) result, verified by the Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC).
2. You study at a government school, a private school funded by a provincial education foundation (such as PEF in Punjab or SEF in Sindh), or a registered madrassa.
3. Students are ranked on merit within their own province, board and stream until that quota is full, so you compete with students of your own board, not the whole country.

Inside each province, 4 of every 5 devices go to school students and 1 in 5 to madrassa students, whose records the Directorate General of Religious Education checks separately. Of the school share, 70% is for science and 30% for arts.

How many Chromebooks each province gets

Islamabad's share stands out: 100,000 devices for the capital, more than KP and Balochistan put together.

How you will get it

There is no application form or portal. Examination boards and the IBCC prepare the merit lists; provincial education departments and foundations confirm that each student is enrolled where they say. Every device is tied to one student by its serial number, then couriered to the verified address, and a central system tracks dispatch, delivery, failed attempts and receipt. If you are left off a list, ranked wrongly or never receive the device, grievance committees at each examination board and at provincial level will hear complaints. A contracted firm handles repairs after the first year.

The devices come from the TT Care Foundation under a letter of understanding with the government, Geo reported.

Two years or three?

At the launch the prime minister said the 500,000 devices would be handed out over two years, Dawn reported, calling modern technology for young people the state's "collective responsibility". The scheme details shared by officials with Geo and ProPakistani say three years. Until the ministry publishes a schedule, expect the first merit lists from the boards before the devices themselves.

What to do now

• Check your Class 9 result: 50% is the floor, but with merit ranked per board the real cut-off will be higher. When BISE Peshawar ran an earlier Chromebook list this month, the bar was 424 marks for science and 315 for arts.
• Make sure your board and school have your correct address and phone number, since the device is couriered.
• Ignore anyone asking for a fee or your CNIC and B-form details to "register": the scheme has no registration step.

Working out your percentage or GPA for other merit schemes? Use our CGPA calculator.