Balochistan Cabinet Targets 1.6 Million Out-of-School Children, Mandates E-Bidding for Public Tenders

Balochistan's provincial cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, approved a package of reforms on October 9, 2026, that pairs an education push aimed at the province's out-of-school children with changes to how public contracts are tendered, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).

The education piece: 1.6 million children, double shifts

The centrepiece is the Balochistan Non-Formal Education Act 2025, which targets the enrolment of nearly 1.6 million out-of-school children aged 10 to 16. Alongside the Act, the cabinet approved the introduction of double-shift schooling, which APP said was meant to "maximize existing infrastructure and accommodate more students." The cabinet also reconstituted the board of the Balochistan Education Foundation. The province's figures sit within a national out-of-school children problem covered in detail separately.

The procurement piece: e-tendering above Rs500,000

The cabinet approved amendments to the Balochistan Public Procurement Rules 2014. According to APP, the changes expand electronic bidding, mandate e-tendering for contracts above Rs500,000, revise financial limits for petty purchases and quotations, streamline bid validity periods and abolish bid document fees.

The mineral fund policy

The same meeting endorsed a policy for the use of the Balochistan Mineral Development Fund. APP reported that the policy is intended to ensure "that financial benefits from natural resources are directed towards provincial development and public welfare." Balochistan hosts the Reko Diq copper and gold project, which we have reported on separately.

Other approvals in the same package

The cabinet also approved a policy to reactivate closed and non-functional industrial units with financial support and incentives, new arrangements for appointing project directors with revised remuneration packages, and draft amendments to the Balochistan Service Tribunal Act 1974. Other decisions covered a draft tourism and cultural policy, a telemedicine law and a Public Health Act, amendments to laws on the provincial commission on the status of women and shelter homes, and the abolition of a Rs200 government fee on domicile and local certificates, which NADRA will issue.

Shahid Rind, aide to the chief minister on media and political affairs, presented the decisions, APP reported.

Build Better Pakistan's Education Desk tracks provincial reforms aimed at Pakistan's out-of-school children crisis as they move from cabinet approval to classroom implementation.