Daanish School Admission in Punjab and Islamabad: Class 6 Forms, Free Boarding and Who Qualifies

Daanish Schools give poor, orphan and needy children free boarding, meals, uniforms and schooling from Class 6. Punjab's 2026 intake is over, and the Punjab authority says it advertises each new round in October. Get the Class 5 result, B-Form and parents' CNICs ready now, and watch daanishschools.punjab.gov.pk.

There are two separate systems. Punjab's Daanish Schools are run by the Punjab Daanish Schools and Centres of Excellence Authority, set up under a 2010 provincial law. The federal government runs its own Daanish School at Kuri, Islamabad, through the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training. They have different forms, dates and tests.

We read both authorities' admission pages, the Punjab 2026 admission form and the federal ministry's 2026 notice on 28 September 2026. We did not apply for a child, so we have not been through the test or the home visit.

Who can get a free seat at a Punjab Daanish School

A child qualifies if they have passed Class 5, fit the age limit, come from a household earning no more than Rs 40,000 a month, and fall into one of seven deprived categories, such as orphans or children of illiterate parents with no property. Then they must pass a written test, a home check and a medical.

The age limits on the 2026 form were 10 to 12 years for boys and 10 to 13 for girls, counted on 31 March 2026. The income limit on that form was Rs 40,000 a month from all sources. The authority's criteria page still mentions Rs 15,000, the original figure, but it says the authority can notify a new amount, and the form is the newer document.

The seven categories come from the authority's admission rules, in order of priority:

1. An orphan who has lost both parents and is cared for by a sibling or relative.
2. An orphan living with the mother.
3. Both parents illiterate, owning no property, and one parent disabled.
4. A school dropout whose parents are illiterate and own no property.
5. Both parents illiterate, owning no property, with no fixed job or income.
6. A village child whose parent is an unskilled worker, illiterate and owning no property.
7. A town child whose family lives in a katcha (mud) house.

Orphans come first on that list. An orphan who misses a seat may still get school costs through Bait-ul-Mal education support for orphans. For category 3, the parent's disability certificate is the clearest proof to attach.

Each school admits a batch of 110 students. Ten per cent of seats go to children whose families pay fees. The rest are for deprived children, and the authority also keeps two seats per campus for boys and girls from other provinces.

When Punjab Daanish admissions open

The authority says it places an advertisement in two national and one local newspaper in October each year, and posts the form on its website. For the 2026 intake, the form and advertisement went up on 16 October 2025. Expect the next round, for Class 6 in 2027, around October 2026.

We found no new advertisement on the authority's site on 28 September 2026. Until one appears, any "last date" you see for the next round is a guess.

The authority's published sample timeline, from an earlier year, gives a sense of the order: advertisement in November, applications closing in late December, a written test a week later, then home checks, the Class 5 result and a medical before a new session in April. Dates change every year, so use it only to plan.

"Antecedent verification" means an official check that your family really is in the category you ticked. The authority can overturn the committee's decision if it finds the check was wrong.

How to apply to a Punjab Daanish School

Download the Class 6 form in English or Urdu from the authority's website, or collect it from the school. Fill it in, attach the documents, and send it to the campus you want by courier. Choose one campus, because the form asks for a single school name.

1. Download the form when the October advertisement appears.
2. Tick one deserving category and write the family's monthly income.
3. Attach four passport photos, the Class 5 result, the father's CNIC copy, the birth certificate and the B-Form.
4. Name two relatives to contact in an emergency.
5. Send the form to the chosen Daanish School by courier before the closing date.

The parent signs an undertaking that the information is true. If anything turns out false, the school can take legal action, and its decision is final. So do not stretch the income figure.

The NADRA B-Form is the document that holds most families up. Apply for it now if your child does not have one.

Punjab campuses include Rajanpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Chishtian, Hasilpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Fazilpur, Vehari, Mianwali, Attock, Taunsa and Mankera, with separate boys' and girls' schools. The authority's head office is on Canal Bank, Lahore, on 042-99231737 to 40.

The federal Daanish School in Islamabad

The federal Daanish School at Kuri, Islamabad took Classes 6, 7 and 8 in 2026. Forms ran from 26 January to 14 February 2026 and the test was on 27 February 2026. It offers free boarding, three meals a day and uniforms, and 10 per cent of seats are self-financed at Rs 20,500 a month.

A child needs to meet only one of these conditions: family income under Rs 40,000 a month, orphan or needy, parents illiterate or labourers, or a home in an urban slum or rural area. The ministry's notice also says seats are kept for children from every province, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Forms came from the school, the Federal Directorate of Education and the Chief Commissioner's office. Islamabad children sat the test at the school, and children from elsewhere sat it in their provincial capital. The school's website, daanish.edu.pk, now shows "Admission Closed" and links to the test result on FBISE's site.

Reports say the federal government has approved more money for new federal Daanish Schools. We could not find the decision on an official page, so we give no figure and no list of new campuses here.

Common questions

Is Daanish School free?

Yes, for deserving children. Boarding, meals, uniforms and teaching are free. About 10 per cent of seats are for families who pay, which the federal school set at Rs 20,500 a month in 2026.

When will Daanish School admission open in Punjab?

The Punjab authority says it advertises each October. The 2026 round was posted on 16 October 2025, and no new notice was up on 28 September 2026.

What is the income limit for Daanish School?

Rs 40,000 a month from all sources on Punjab's 2026 form. The federal school uses under Rs 40,000 as one of its conditions.

What is the age limit for Class 6 at a Daanish School?

10 to 12 years for boys and 10 to 13 for girls. Punjab counted age on 31 March 2026.

Can a child from Sindh or Balochistan apply?

Yes, on reserved provincial seats. Punjab keeps two seats per campus for other provinces, and the federal school keeps seats for every province and region.

Is there an entry test?

Yes. Both systems use a written test, then a family check and a medical exam, and the federal school adds an interview.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked on 28 September 2026. The 110-seat batch, 10 per cent fee-paying seats, seven deserving categories, Class 5 and age rules, antecedent verification, October advertising, documents and provincial seats are read on the Punjab authority's Admission Criteria page. The Rs 40,000 income limit, the 31 March 2026 age date and the undertaking are read on its 2026 Class 6 form, posted on 16 October 2025. The courier instruction is on its Admission Forms page, and the sample timeline on its Induction Timeline page. The federal school's classes, conditions, ages, Rs 20,500 fee, forms, dates and test centres are read in the Ministry of Federal Education notice, and the "Admission Closed" status on daanish.edu.pk. We could not confirm the reported new federal funding on an official page.