Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to immediately devise a strategy to incorporate IT as a compulsory subject in the curriculum from sixth grade onwards across the country.

Chairing a review meeting on the affairs of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom in Islamabad today, he said promoting the IT sector and boosting its exports are the government's top priorities.

The Prime Minister vowed to collaborate with provincial governments to ensure quality and uniform IT education and training at the school, college, and university levels.

He also instructed to initiate IT training programs in schools, colleges, and research institutes in less developed areas of Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir, and Balochistan.

Shehbaz Sharif emphasized the importance of ensuring high-quality IT training programs, enabling trainees to secure good job opportunities both within the country and abroad.

The meeting was informed that internet connectivity in schools across Islamabad is being upgraded under the School Broadband Connectivity project.

It was briefed that the IT Ministry provided high-end training to over forty-nine thousand individuals and general training to six hundred thousand people during 2024-25. Skills Vocational Training Centres are being established in collaboration with Huawei at the International Islamic University, the National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, and COMSATS University, Lahore.

It was said that Huawei's training program, covering artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data, and cybersecurity, has been integrated into the curriculum of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute, the University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, and Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro.

Additionally, the Ministry of Federal Education and Technical Training is extending training to over one hundred and forty-five thousand students, and thirteen hundred laboratories will be upgraded in collaboration with Huawei. This initiative will benefit residents of Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir.