PM Chromebook Scheme: 500,000 Free Chromebooks for Top Government School Students

What the launch announced

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched the Prime Minister's Youth Chromebook Scheme at a ceremony at the Convention Centre in Islamabad on 25 October 2026. Launch reports describe a national plan to give 500,000 Chromebooks to talented students over two years, with devices handed on stage to high performing Grade 9 students and students of seminaries. The prime minister said selection would rest on merit alone, so family income would not decide who gets a device.

Who runs the scheme

The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training runs the scheme together with the Prime Minister's Youth Programme, in coordination with the provinces. The Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC) verifies board results and runs the official registration portal. The Tokyo Technology Care Foundation is reported as the partner that committed to supply devices under a letter of understanding.

Which classes qualify in each region

In Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the scheme covers high achieving Grade 9 students, known as SSC-I students, from the 2026 annual examinations. In Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, it covers high achieving Grade 9 and Grade 10 students, known as SSC-I and SSC-II students.

Reports differ on one detail. Several guides quote a minimum of 50 percent marks in SSC-I, but one portal check says no fixed percentage is printed.

Which schools qualify

The scheme is for students of government or public schools. Regular private school students are not eligible, according to the portal guidance reported by several guides. Students at private schools funded through provincial education foundations are reported as eligible by some guides, and registered madaris students are covered through a separate share.

How merit ranking works

Selection is merit based within each province or region, board and stream. Your board sends its list of results to IBCC, IBCC verifies that list, and students are ranked until the regional quota runs out. Ranking is local to your board and stream.

The full province quota table

The reported quotas add up to exactly 500,000 devices.

What the 80/20 and 70/30 splits mean

Within each region's share, 80 percent of devices go to school students and 20 percent go to madaris students. Across the whole scheme, that means 400,000 devices for school students and 100,000 for madaris students. Among school students, 70 percent of devices go to the science stream and 30 percent go to the arts stream.

The short answer: both, in different steps

You apply personally, but you cannot apply yourself into the scheme from outside your board's list. Your board selects the pool by sending verified results to IBCC, and you then complete your own registration on the official IBCC portal at pmychromebooks.ibcc.edu.pk. The portal matches your details against the board list, and you upload your documents and submit the form.

What to do if your record is missing

If the portal cannot find your record, do not pay an agent and do not submit a second form with guessed details. Contact your school first, then your education board, and ask them to confirm that your details were forwarded to IBCC. Boards send their lists in stages, so a missing record may mean your board has not sent its list yet.

Sindh students face a special timing issue. The portal guidance says Sindh registration opens on the same portal after all Sindh boards announce their Class 9 annual examination 2026 results. One update dated 4 November 2026 reports that the boards for Karachi and Larkana were then listed as open, with other Sindh boards marked as coming soon. Check the portal's board menu for your own board.

Registration steps

Follow these steps in order, and use only the official portal address. Do not use a link from a social media post or a WhatsApp forward without checking that it matches the official address exactly.

1. Open the official portal at pmychromebooks.ibcc.edu.pk.
2. Select your education board from the list shown on the portal.
3. Enter your B-Form or CNIC number and your date of birth, plus your roll or registration number where the form asks for it.
4. Check the record the portal shows for your name, school and marks against your own mark sheet.
5. Upload the four documents listed below, each file under 300 KB.
6. Review every field, then submit the form once.

Reports say you can apply only once and cannot edit the form after submission, so wrong information can cancel an allocation. If a detail on the portal record is wrong, fix it through your school or board first, because the portal record comes from the board list and not from what you type.

Documents you need

Keep scanned copies ready before you start, so you do not lose a session halfway through the form. Each file must be under 300 KB, according to the guides that checked the portal.

• A recent colour photograph with a plain background.
• Your SSC-I or SSC-II mark sheet.
• An attested copy of your B-Form or CNIC.
• An attested copy of your father or guardian's CNIC.

Deadlines you must watch

No nationwide deadline has been confirmed in the reports found for this guide. Deadlines differ from board to board, so your board's notice matters more than any national date you see online. Some board notices set a date in October 2026 for their listed candidates, which shows how quickly a board window can close.

The device package

Each recipient gets a Chromebook, a bag and a MiFi internet device. The MiFi device lets a student get online at home without depending on a shared family phone. Launch reports say the internet feature could extend the benefit to family members, with the prime minister estimating a reach of 2.5 million people when families are counted.

Some guides report refurbished devices, citing officials through Geo News, but main launch reports do not confirm this. Models, data allowance and connectivity duration are also not confirmed.

Delivery, tracking and complaints

Reports say each Chromebook will be linked to its recipient by serial number and checked against merit, enrolment and delivery details. Devices will go directly to verified students by courier, with a central system tracking every dispatch and delivery. Repair and maintenance are reported to come through a contracted firm after the first year.

Common problems and how to handle them

The most common problem is a missing portal record, and the fix sits with the board, as explained above. The second common problem is a document file over the 300 KB limit, which you can fix by compressing the scan before you upload it. The third is a wrong stream or school name on the portal record, which only your school or board can correct at source.

Scam warnings

Apply only through the official IBCC portal, and ignore unofficial websites or agents who ask for money to register you. A genuine scheme does not charge a registration fee, does not ask for payment through a mobile wallet, and does not promise a guaranteed device to anyone who pays.

PakBenefits is an independent guide, not the government, and it does not run this scheme. PakBenefits does not collect CNIC numbers, B-Form numbers, mark sheets or any other student data, and it cannot add a student to a board list or change a merit ranking. Use this guide to understand the scheme, then complete your application only on the official IBCC portal.

A school device, not a university laptop

This scheme gives Chromebooks to school students in Grade 9, and in Grade 9 and Grade 10 in Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. That is different from the CM Punjab Free Laptop Scheme, which is a separate Punjab programme with its own rules and portal. Do not mix the two portals, and do not assume eligibility for one scheme means eligibility for the other.

Scholarships and skills routes are separate

A Chromebook is a device, not a scholarship and not a training place. If you need fee support for higher education, read the CM Punjab Honhaar Scholarship Program 2026 and the Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship guides, which cover different eligibility rules. Young women looking for study support should also check the Scotland Pakistan Scholarships for Young Women and Girls. If you want skills training rather than a device, the Punjab One Million Youth Skills Training programme is a separate route with its own intake.

A quick readiness checklist

Use this checklist before you start the form, so you do not discover a blocker after you have begun. It is the original element in this guide: most competitor guides list the rules, but few separate what is confirmed from what is only reported or still unconfirmed.

If a claim is marked reported or not confirmed, check your board notice or the portal before quoting it.