5000 Schools in KP Now Run on Solar Energy: KP Govt

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has spent Rs 2 billion on the solar power initiative at government schools in the province. The aim behind the initiative is to provide uninterrupted power supply to the schools. According to the spokesperson, Elementary and Secondary Education Department, at least 1 million students are benefiting or will benefit from the project. The spokesperson told that electricity supply in around 5,000 schools in 22 districts has been converted to solar energy. ALSO READ Solar Units to Help KPK Health Facilities Combat 10 Hour Power Outages The KPK government, in February, announced to solarise all primary schools in southern districts of the province. According to the announcement Department for International Development (DFID), the UK and Saudi Development Fund (SFD) told to jointly fund the project. This included an investment of around Rs 950 million to completely solarise 1,959 primary schools in following regions; The grant was provided under the “Improving Quality of Learning through Provision of Sustainable Renewable Energy Solutions in Primary Schools in Southern Districts of KPK, Pakistan” project. The KPK government aims to attract more students to government schools by improving the infrastructure. Currently, most parents hesitate to send their children to government schools across Pakistan. This initiative will help transit towards sustainable energy and improvement of much-needed facilities at the government institutions. The KPK government previously announced an initiative to upgrade the mosques in the region by providing them solar panels as well.