PM Youth Chromebook Scheme 2026: How to Apply for a Free Chromebook in Pakistan

The Prime Minister’s Youth Programme has announced one of the biggest student technology giveaways in Pakistan’s history: 500,000 free Chromebooks for top-performing students of government schools across the country. The scheme was formally launched in Islamabad in October 2026, and applications are now open through the official portal run by the Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC).

What Is the PM Youth Chromebook Scheme?

The PM Youth Chromebook Scheme is a government initiative under the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP) to put a learning device in the hands of half a million students. The Chromebooks are being distributed over two years, with the Tokyo Technology Care Foundation supporting the programme — Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked the foundation’s founder, Rashid Minhas, at the launch ceremony in Islamabad.

A Chromebook is a lightweight laptop that runs Google’s ChromeOS. It is built around web apps, so it is ideal for online classes, research, assignments, document preparation and exam preparation — exactly the tasks students need a device for. For a student who has never owned a laptop, it removes the biggest barrier to digital learning.

The scheme sits inside the government’s wider Digital Pakistan vision: expanding technology access in education so that talent is not held back by a family’s ability to buy a device. It is separate from the older PM Youth Laptop Scheme, which gives laptops to university students through the Higher Education Commission (HEC) — the Chromebook scheme is for school students, and it runs through IBCC and the education boards.

Who Can Apply? Eligibility Explained

Eligibility is narrower than many social media posts suggest, so check this carefully before you apply.

Only students of government and public schools can apply. Private school students are not included under the criteria currently published on the official portal.

Your board must have your name on its list. Each education board sends IBCC a list of its top-performing students, based on the Annual Examinations 2026. There is no single nationwide marks cutoff — every board decides its own “top-performing” criteria. If your name is not on your board’s list, the portal will not find your record.

Which class qualifies depends on your region:

Quotas inside the scheme: four out of every five devices go to school students and one to seminary students. Within the schools’ share, 70% of devices are reserved for science students and 30% for arts students.

Documents You Need Before Applying

Have these ready before you open the portal — each file must be 300 KB or smaller, or the upload will fail:

Resize and compress your scans before you start, and check that every document is still clear and readable after resizing. A blurry mark sheet is one of the easiest ways to lose an application.

How to Apply: Step by Step

The whole process is online, on the official portal only: pmychromebooks.ibcc.edu.pk. Do not enter your CNIC, B-Form or other personal information on any other website — fake portals and WhatsApp forwards asking for “registration fees” are already circulating, and the real scheme charges nothing to apply.

1. Open the official portal. Go to pmychromebooks.ibcc.edu.pk. Bookmark it, and use only this address.
2. Select your education board. Choose the board under which you appeared in your examination. This matters because the portal checks your record against the data that specific board submitted.
3. Enter your identification details. Search for your record using your CNIC or B-Form number, roll number, or registration number. Enter numbers only, with no dashes, exactly as they appear in your board record.
4. Enter your date of birth. Enter it exactly as it appears in your official academic or identification record. A mismatched date is the most common reason a record is not found.
5. Click “Find My Record”. The portal searches the database using the details you entered and compares them with the list your board sent to IBCC.
6. Check the record the portal shows. If a match is found, the portal displays your name, school and marks. Review every detail carefully — it must match your official records.
7. If your record is not found, try another search option. Try your roll number or registration number instead of the CNIC/B-Form number. If none of those work, contact your education board directly: the portal can only search the data the boards supplied, so a missing record usually means the board’s list does not include you yet.
8. Upload your documents and submit. Upload the four documents listed above, review everything one final time, and submit. You can apply only once, and you cannot edit your information after submitting — so do not rush this step.

After a successful submission the system generates a reference number and an application slip. Download the slip and keep it safe: it is your proof of submission.

What Happens After You Apply?

Once the merit lists are finalised, each Chromebook’s serial number is linked to the name of the student it is allocated to, and the device is sent by courier directly to the student’s verified home address. A central monitoring system tracks every device’s dispatch, delivery, failed delivery attempt and receipt confirmation.

Committees are being set up at the education-board and provincial levels to handle complaints — including non-inclusion in a merit list, verification problems, wrong registration data, and devices that never arrive. If something goes wrong after you apply, your board is the first place to raise it.

Is There a Deadline?

The official portal does not currently display one nationwide application deadline. Individual boards may issue their own schedules, so check your own board’s announcements regularly for the last date and any extension. Do not rely on a date from a social media post — deadlines differ between boards.

Chromebook Scheme vs PM Laptop Scheme: Don’t Mix Them Up

Many students are confusing the two programmes. They are different schemes, for different students:

If you are at university, the Chromebook portal is not for you — apply through the laptop scheme instead. If you are in Grade 9 or 10 at a government school, the laptop scheme is not for you.

What Can You Actually Do With a Chromebook?

A Chromebook covers almost everything a student needs: Google Classroom and online classes, research on the web, writing assignments in Google Docs, spreadsheets, presentations, and preparation for entry tests. It also opens the door to learning skills that pay — many Pakistani students start freelancing with nothing more than a browser, a Google account and a skill like graphic design, content writing or basic web development. If you want a sense of what a proper work laptop looks like when you outgrow a Chromebook, our guide to the best laptops for web developers in Pakistan breaks down the options by budget.

Common Mistakes That Get Applications Rejected

• Applying from a private school. The published criteria cover government and public schools only.
• Typing your CNIC with dashes. Enter numbers only.
• A wrong date of birth. It must match your board record exactly.
• Uploading files over 300 KB. Compress them first.
• Submitting twice or with errors. One application only, and no edits after submission — a wrong entry can cancel your allocation.
• Trusting unofficial links. Apply only at pmychromebooks.ibcc.edu.pk. Nobody from the scheme will ask you for money, a “processing fee” or your bank details.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

500,000 Chromebooks is a genuine, large-scale opportunity — but only for the students it is actually designed for: top performers in government schools whose boards have sent their names to IBCC. If that is you, apply now on the official portal, with your documents ready and every detail double-checked. If your record is not found, talk to your board rather than to a random agent or paid “helper” online.

Pakistan’s tech story is moving fast — Pakistani apps recently crossed 4.6 billion downloads, and the same digital wave is reaching classrooms. A free Chromebook is a good place to start; what you learn on it is what matters next.

Source: ProPakistani (23 October 2026), Daily Pakistan, IBCC official portal (pmychromebooks.ibcc.edu.pk). Scheme details are as published on the official portal; board-level dates and lists may change — verify on the portal before applying.