Punjab has launched a province-wide Artificial Intelligence teacher-training initiative aimed at strengthening the use of AI in teaching and learning and preparing educators for the demands of an increasingly digital education system.
The initiative was launched in Lahore with Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister on AI and Special Initiatives Ali Dar attending as chief guest, alongside senior officials from the School Education Department, AI Office, PECTAA, PMIU-PESRP and UNICEF Pakistan.
Under the initiative, the Punjab Education Curriculum, Training and Assessment Authority (PECTAA) is adopting a four-tier cascade model to build teachers’ capacity to use AI meaningfully, responsibly and effectively in classrooms. The programme outlined in the launch plan includes 40 Lead Master Trainers supporting 680 Master Trainers, who will subsequently facilitate training at the school level. Teachers will also have access to self-paced learning through a learning management system.
The primary-school component targets approximately 154,000 teachers across Punjab, while reports on the broader provincial AI training programme have placed the overall number of educators to be trained at more than 150,000.
The initiative builds on Punjab’s ongoing efforts to introduce AI and digital skills into education. PECTAA has previously worked on developing an AI curriculum for schools and expanding teachers’ familiarity with tools such as Google Workspace, Gemini and NotebookLM.
Speaking at the launch, Ali Dar said the programme would help equip teachers and students with skills relevant to emerging technologies and the future economy. The initiative is designed not simply to introduce AI tools but to develop teachers’ ability to apply them appropriately within classroom teaching and learning.
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With its cascade training structure, Punjab aims to extend AI capacity-building beyond a limited group of specialists and into schools across the province, making teachers a central part of the province’s wider digital education strategy.
