Chromebook Scheme vs Laptop Scheme: Which One Is for You?

Pakistan now runs two big student device programmes under the Prime Minister's Youth Programme banner, and students mix them up constantly. Queries pour in every week: university students asking about Chromebooks, school students applying for laptops. This comparison puts the two side by side so you can aim at the right one. For the Chromebook side in full detail, see our Chromebook scheme overview.

The short answer

The Prime Minister's Laptop Scheme is for students enrolled in public sector universities and degree institutions — undergraduate and postgraduate students selected on academic merit through their universities, with distribution handled under the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

The Prime Minister's Youth Chromebook Scheme, launched in October 2026, is for school students — top performers in Grade 9 (and Grade 10 in AJK, Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan) from government and public schools, selected through their education boards, with applications handled by IBCC.

Same umbrella, completely different doors.

Side by side

• Who it's for: Laptop Scheme — university students. Chromebook Scheme — school students in Grades 9 and 10.
• Institution: Laptop Scheme — public universities and HEC-recognised institutions. Chromebook Scheme — government/public schools and seminaries.
• Selection route: Laptop Scheme — merit lists prepared through universities. Chromebook Scheme — top-performer lists prepared by education boards.
• Running body: Laptop Scheme — HEC. Chromebook Scheme — IBCC portal, under the Prime Minister's Youth Programme.
• Device: Laptop Scheme — full laptops. Chromebook Scheme — Chromebooks, built around web-based study, online classes and cloud documents.
• Scale: Chromebook Scheme — 500,000 devices announced over about two years.
• Delivery: Chromebook Scheme — couriered to the student's home with the serial number linked to the student's name.

Why a Chromebook for school students?

A Chromebook is a laptop-style device built around the Chrome browser and cloud storage. For schoolwork — online classes, Google Classroom, recorded lectures, typed assignments, past papers — it covers the real workload of a Grade 9 or 10 student at a lower cost per device than a full laptop. Lower cost per device is how the programme reaches half a million students. University students, whose work runs heavier software for engineering, design and research, are the ones who genuinely need full laptops — which is what the older scheme gives them.

Why two schemes at all?

Because the gap exists at both levels. A university student without a laptop falls behind in labs, assignments and research. A school student without any device falls behind earlier — in online classes, digital textbooks and the basic computer familiarity that every later stage assumes. Running one scheme per level lets each programme pick the right device, the right selection channel and the right budget for its students, instead of stretching one design across both.

Can you get both?

Not at the same time, and not through the same door — the two schemes serve different levels of education. But life moves forward: a Grade 9 student who receives a Chromebook in 2026 and later reaches a public university on merit can, in that later year, be considered under the Laptop Scheme like any other university student. The schemes are stages, not rivals. Think of the Chromebook as the school-stage device and the laptop as the university-stage one.

Common mix-ups to avoid

"I'm at university — where do I apply for a Chromebook?" You don't. The Chromebook Scheme covers school classes only. Your programme is the Laptop Scheme; watch your university's notices and the HEC announcements for its phases.

"I'm in Grade 11 — which scheme covers me?" Under the current published criteria, neither list includes Grade 11: the Chromebook Scheme stops at Grade 10 (and only in three regions), and the Laptop Scheme starts at university. If the criteria expand, your board's notice will say so first.

"A website is selling application forms for both schemes." Both schemes are free to apply to, and Chromebook applications are online only on the IBCC portal. A sold form is worth nothing. Read our eligibility guide before trusting any third-party claim about who qualifies.

Which one should you follow?

Still in school and topping your board? The Chromebook Scheme, right now — check your record on the IBCC portal. Already at a public university? Follow the Laptop Scheme through your university and HEC. Younger sibling in Grade 9 and you at university? You may genuinely have one of each in the same house, through two different systems.

Whichever door is yours, use the official one. Both schemes are free, both are merit-based, and neither needs an agent. More background on this guide itself is on our about page.