Assalam-o-Alaikum my dear friends! How are you all today? This morning my neighbour in Multan knocked on my door with her phone in her hand. Her son is in Class 9 in a government school, and someone in their street WhatsApp group had sent a message about the PM laptop scheme: free laptops for students, just send your CNIC and Rs500. She looked at me and said, “Maryam, is this true? Should I send it?” Bilkul nahi! I told her to stop right there. Because the real news is happy news, but the fake messages around it are not. Today I will tell you the true story in very simple words, slowly, so no child in your home misses a real chance, and no family loses money to a lie.
So, what happened? On Sunday, October 25, 2026, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched a new scheme in Islamabad. It is called the PM Youth Chromebook Scheme. Under this scheme, 500,000 Chromebooks will be given to top students over two years. The News reported that the Prime Minister unveiled the scheme at a ceremony in Islamabad and gave laptops and internet devices to high-performing Grade 9 students and students of seminaries on the day. A Chromebook is a small, light laptop. It is made for study, online classes, homework, and reading. It is not a big gaming computer. But for a child who has never had a computer at home, it can change everything.
Now, listen carefully, because this is the part where many people get confused. People search for “PM laptop scheme” on Google, and that is the old, familiar name. Years ago, the government gave laptops under the PM Laptop Scheme. This new scheme is different. It gives Chromebooks, not the old laptops, and it is for school students in Class 9 and Class 10, not for university students. The old laptop scheme and this Chromebook scheme are two different programmes. I am writing about the new one today. If someone tells you this is the university laptop scheme, they are mixing two stories together.
Who can apply for the PM Youth Chromebook Scheme?
Only some students can apply. This is the hard truth, and I will not hide it from you. The scheme is only for students of government schools and public schools. Private school students are not eligible under the rules shown on the official portal. Each board sends a list of its top students to the IBCC, the Inter Boards Coordination Commission. If your name is not on your board’s list, the portal will not find your record. That does not mean your child is not clever. It means this scheme picks only the top names from each board’s 2026 annual exam results.
The classes are different in different parts of Pakistan. In Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, only top-performing Grade 9 students, called SSC-I, can apply. In Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, top students of both Grade 9 and Grade 10, SSC-I and SSC-II, can apply. Each education board sets its own merit cutoff, its own minimum marks line. Media reports quote a minimum of 50% marks in SSC-I, but meeting that minimum alone does not give you a device. Students are ranked by merit within their own province or region, their board, and their study group, science or arts, until the quota is full. So please, check with your own school and your own board. Do not believe a single number that a stranger on Facebook tells you.
One more beautiful point from the launch. The Prime Minister said seminary students are also part of this scheme. At the ceremony, a student from Baltistan who studies at a religious seminary said madrasa students had been told they would not get laptops or Chromebooks. The Prime Minister made it clear: this programme includes both schools and madaris. Reports say 20% of each region’s share is set aside for madrasa students, and 80% for school students. The Prime Minister also said something I loved. He said intelligence and hard work should not be held captive by wealth and poverty. A poor child’s talent is the same as a rich child’s talent. In our streets of Multan, Lahore, and Peshawar, we see this every day. A child studies under a streetlight during load-shedding, and still tops the class. This scheme is for that child.
How many Chromebooks will each province get?
ARY News reported the province-wise shares, and I am sharing them here so you can see the size of the plan. But remember, these are reported shares. Your board’s own list is the final word for your child.
Punjab will get 181,090 Chromebooks. Islamabad Capital Territory will get 100,000. Sindh will get 85,925. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will get 51,170. Balochistan will get 31,815. Azad Jammu and Kashmir will get 25,000, and Gilgit-Baltistan will get 25,000. That makes 500,000 in total. Within the school share, reports say 70% is for the science group and 30% for the arts group. The Prime Minister said the old laptop programme gave about 600,000 laptops in roughly ten years. This new plan aims for 500,000 Chromebooks in just two years, about 250,000 a year. That is a fast pace. It will only work if boards, schools, and families all do their part on time.
Each Chromebook also comes with a bag and a MiFi internet device, so a child can study online even if the home has no wifi. The devices are reported to be refurbished Chromebooks, supplied with support from the Tokyo Technology Care Foundation. Refurbished means the device was used before, checked, cleaned, and made ready again. It is not a brand-new box from a shop, but it is a real, working computer for study. I am telling you this plainly because you should know exactly what your child will receive, with no surprise later.
How to apply online, step by step
Do not go to any agent. Do not pay anyone. The only official portal is pmychromebooks.ibcc.edu.pk. That is the IBCC portal. If any other website asks you for money, close it. Here are the steps, one by one, in very simple words.
First, open the official portal on your phone or computer and select your education board from the list. Second, enter your CNIC or B-Form number, or your roll number or registration number. Type only the numbers, no dashes. Then enter your date of birth, exactly as it is written in your school record. Third, click “Find My Record.” The portal will show your name, school, and marks, taken from the list your board sent. Check every word. If your name is spelled wrong, or your marks look wrong, stop and talk to your school. Do not submit a wrong form.
Fourth, upload your documents. You need four things: a recent passport-style colour photo, your SSC-I or SSC-II mark sheet, an attested copy of your B-Form or CNIC, and an attested copy of your father or guardian’s CNIC. Each file must be smaller than 300 KB. If your photo file is too big, ask a shop or a school teacher to make it smaller. A blurry photo can cause trouble later. Fifth, submit the form, only once. You cannot edit it after you submit. Wrong information can cancel your allocation. Save your reference number and download your slip. Keep that slip safe, like you keep a school fee receipt.
If the portal says “record not found,” do not panic, and do not pay a stranger to “fix” it. Try your roll number or registration number instead of your CNIC or B-Form number. If it still does not work, go to your school or your board office. Only the board can add or correct a name on the list it sent to IBCC. In my own family, we learned this lesson with a scholarship form years ago. One small spelling difference in a name cost us two weeks of running around. Check first, submit second. Always.
The last date problem: please read this part twice
This is the most important warning in this whole article. There is no single last date for the whole country. Each board has its own date, and some board dates have already passed. BISE Lahore and the AJK board set October 19, 2026. BISE Multan also asked students to register by October 19. One BISE Faisalabad notice gave October 28, 2026. Other boards gave October 24. And for Sindh, registration on the same portal opens only after all Sindh boards declare the Class 9 annual 2026 result. So if your cousin in Karachi says the portal is open, and your nephew in Faisalabad says it is closed, both can be telling the truth. Their boards are different.
So what should you do today, on October 29? Open the official portal. Check your own board’s notice. If your board’s date has passed, call your school or board office today and ask, in plain words: “Has an extension been announced? Can late registration still be accepted?” Do not assume. Do not trust a forwarded message that says “last date extended for everyone.” If no extension notice exists on your board’s own site, the old date stands. I know this feels unfair. A child should not lose a chance because a message reached home late. But that is why I am writing this today, and why I am asking you to share this article with the parents in your street, in your school group, in your village. One share today can save a child’s chance tomorrow.
And one more warning, from my heart. Nobody from the scheme will ask you for money, a processing fee, or your bank details. The application is free. Anyone who asks for a fee in the scheme’s name is running a scam. The same rule applies to the messages about the petrol price in Pakistan and other government news that fly around on WhatsApp: check the official source first. If your child travels to school in Lahore in this smog season, please also read my guide on the Lahore AQI today and smog safety, so you know how to keep them safe on the road. And if your child dreams of starting their own small work one day with the skills they learn on this Chromebook, my simple guide on how to start a business in Pakistan is waiting for them when they are ready.
Top-performing students of government and public schools, based on the Annual Examinations 2026. In Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, only Grade 9 (SSC-I) students. In Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, Grade 9 and Grade 10 students. Private school students are not eligible under the portal rules. Your name must be on your board’s list sent to IBCC.
Only on the official IBCC portal, pmychromebooks.ibcc.edu.pk. Select your board, enter your CNIC/B-Form, roll, or registration number and date of birth, find your record, upload your documents, and submit once. Save your reference slip. You cannot edit the form after submission.
A recent colour passport-style photo, your SSC-I or SSC-II mark sheet, an attested copy of your B-Form or CNIC, and an attested copy of your father or guardian’s CNIC. Each file must be 300 KB or smaller.
There is no single nationwide last date. Each board sets its own date. Some boards set October 19 or October 24, 2026, and one Faisalabad notice gave October 28. Sindh registration opens after Sindh boards declare Class 9 results. Check your own board’s notice and ask your school or board about any extension.
No, applying is free, and nobody from the scheme will ask for money or bank details. Anyone who asks for a fee is running a scam. Applying also does not guarantee a device. Selection is by merit within your province, board, and study group until the quota is full.
Take care, my dear friends. If your child applied, or if your board told you something new about the date, please tell me through our Contact Us page. I read every message. Did the portal find your child’s record? Was the photo size a problem? Tell me, I am waiting to hear from you, and I will pray that every hardworking child in Pakistan gets the chance they deserve.
