ACCORDING to the 7th Population and Housing Census, conducted in 2023, Pakistan’s population had reached 241.5 million. A defining characteristic of the country’s demographic profile is its substantial youth bulge, with 26 percent of the population aged between 15 and 29 years and 53.8 percent falling within the working-age group of 15 to 59 years. This demographic dividend offers enormous opportunities for economic prosperity and social development, provided the youth are equipped with scientific knowledge, modern technology and relevant skills.
Recognizing this potential, the Federal Government, headed by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, has launched several initiatives to enhance youth employment and economic opportunities. These include the Prime Minister’s Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme, Youth Skills Development Programme, Pakistan Education Endowment Fund, IT Startups and Venture Capital support, Prime Minister’s Youth Laptop Scheme and Digital Youth Hub. These initiatives seek to transform Pakistan’s demographic challenge into an engine of economic growth and social stability.
Under the Prime Minister’s Youth Laptop Scheme, around 600,000 laptops have already been distributed among talented students across Pakistan, including Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Another 100,000 laptops are being distributed under its Phase-IV. Initially launched during the tenure of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the scheme has continued under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Taking this initiative a step further, the Prime Minister’s Youth Chromebook Scheme has recently been launched, envisaging the distribution of 500,000 Chromebooks among meritorious students nationwide over two years. The scheme, launched at a ceremony organized by the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, aims to extend digital learning opportunities to students, particularly those belonging to underserved and disadvantaged communities.
Addressing the ceremony, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized that wealth or poverty must not determine access to education, technology and opportunity. Students from schools and religious seminaries will receive Chromebooks and internet facilities. Selected students will also be provided with bags and MiFi devices to facilitate remote learning and access to digital libraries from their homes.
The scheme will be implemented by the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training in collaboration with the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme. The T T Care Foundation will provide 500,000 refurbished Chromebooks over the stipulated two-year period. During the ongoing financial year 2026-27, 200,000 devices are scheduled for distribution.
Provincial and regional allocations include 181,090 devices for Punjab, 85,925 for Sindh, 51,170 for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 31,815 for Balochistan, 100,000 for Islamabad Capital Territory and 25,000 each for Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
A Chromebook is an affordable laptop operating on Google’s ChromeOS, primarily designed for internet browsing, cloud storage and web-based applications. Its affordability, simplicity, speed, portability, long battery life and collaborative learning features make it particularly useful for students. However, limited offline functionality, software restrictions and modest hardware capabilities remain some of its limitations.
The fair and merit-based distribution of Chromebooks will hopefully encourage healthy competition among students, enabling talented young people to develop their capabilities, embrace technological advancement and contribute meaningfully to Pakistan’s digital transformation and socioeconomic progress.
—The writer is a Lahore-based freelance journalist, columnist and retired Deputy Controller (News), Radio Pakistan, Islamabad.
