Lahore: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif has approved a new curriculum designed to lessen the burden of textbooks and reduce reliance on rote learning. The initiative, announced Thursday, also includes measures for mental health support and online counseling for teachers and students.

According to Directorate General Public Relation – Govt of Punjab, the decision was made during a special meeting led by the chief minister. The meeting reviewed curricula for English, mathematics, social studies, Urdu, and early childhood education. Key features of the new curriculum include a 25 percent reduction in textbook volume, with QR codes incorporated into each book to provide students with access to video lessons related to the topics covered.

Additionally, the chief minister requested details on an artificial intelligence curriculum for students from Class-I to Class-XII and emphasized that the printing of textbooks should be completed before March. The meeting received a comprehensive briefing on the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PECTA) and agreed to introduce mental health training for teachers for the first time in the province. It also considered appointing visiting faculty psychologists in every district and directed authorities to facilitate online counseling for students.

The meeting reached a consensus on the need for legislation to prevent corporal punishment in schools, suggesting the creation of “discipline corners” in classrooms as an alternative. It was also agreed that Saturdays would be allocated for teachers’ training, with authors of the new textbooks conducting training sessions.

Chief Minister Sharif expressed a desire for an effective educational model in Punjab’s government schools, emphasizing the development of laboratories alongside the AI curriculum. She noted that while resources are available, their wastage must be curtailed, emphasizing a greater focus on primary education to strengthen educational foundations.

Digital literacy is being promoted across Punjab’s schools, with English-language training completed for 35,000 teachers in 31 tehsils of 12 districts. Stressing the need to replace corporal punishment with constructive disciplinary measures, the chief minister remarked, “An episode of physical violence can have a lifelong impact on a child.”