Punjab to Transition All Schools and Colleges to Solar Power

Punjab Department of School Education has further announced the intention to switch 100 percent of all higher primary and secondary schools in the province to solar energy.

Authorities have ordered new statistics on the schools which are already converted to solar power. It is estimated that in Punjab, there are 861 running higher and secondary schools out of which there are 21 schools in Lahore that need to be converted in solar energy with only four schools having converted in this regard.

The education department has also issued a formal directive to the school administrators to provide the necessary information about the schools which will be converted to solar early enough so that the entire information can be submitted by June 30, 2025.

It was shown that through sources, some institutions have gone into the use of solar energy solutions out of their own initiative without government support. A stern warning was also given that principals of schools who will not provide the required data will be subjected to discipline.

Rana Liaquat Ali, General Secretary of the Punjab Teachers Union (PTU) said that the process to convert schools to solar energy has been in the air since the last five years. But nonetheless, some schools because of shortage of financial resources have been compelled to self-finance the installation of solar systems.

He also recorded that on some level some school administrators took 15, 000 rupees out of the pockets of teachers to buy solar panels. Rana Liaquat Ali put pressure on the government by demanding that all schools of the province should be furnished with the solar panels free of cost so that they can evenly allocate finances to the process of implementing the renewable energy solutions.