Perspective

Insights From the 2023 Census Report

The 2023 Census conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics released its complete report in July 2024 indicates that the total population of Pakistan is 240 million out of which the population of children under 18 is 112 Million (47% of the total population). Children Population (under 18) Population under 18 Total Male Female Transgender Pakistan 112,472,700 58,099,978 54,370,121 2,601…

Grace Marks by Sindh Government

In a move as surprising as it is contentious, the Sindh provincial government has decreed a generous 15% grace mark for students who faltered in their class XI examinations last year. The decision, prompted by an investigative committee report on the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi’s controversial results, comes as…

Juvenile Offenders in Punjab

The total number of convicted and undertrial juveniles imprisoned in various borstal…

deficiencies in Pakistan's education system

The Impact of Pakistan’s Education System

What PM Shehbaz Sharif blurted out recently isn’t quite a national secret.…

Futures Snatched By Force Of Faith

The concerns regarding forced conversion are not a new phenomenon in our part of the world. Almost a century ago the All India Muslim League chalked out the rules for conversion in this region. The All India Muslim League adopted a resolution in December, 1927 at Calcutta which addressed the…

Education Outsourcing

THE Sindh government’s recent plan to outsource school education through public-private partnerships (PPPs) has sparked a new debate. While the move is being portrayed as a step towards improving quality, it raises more concerns than confidence. Punjab has already adopted a similar model, and Sindh has tried partial outsourcing through…

Deadly Bite

IMAGINE a child happily heading to the park to play ball with friends. A stray dog prowls nearby, foaming at the mouth and ferociously gnawing on a bramble. The canine spots the children and lunges at them. Some run away screaming in terror, while one unlucky child is knocked down…

Polio Mountain

THE world’s battle against polio is stuck on a glass mountain. After 37 years and $22bn, the Independent Monitoring Board has declared that conventional strategies are running out of road. Its latest assessment, The Glass Mountain, places Pakistan centre stage. The country has reported 27 new cases this year — small in absolute…

As Thousands of Children Battle Thalassaemia, Gaps in Screening and Policy Continue to put Families at Risk

Seven-year-old Muhammad Aban, from a poor family and currently admitted to Benazir Children’s Hospital in Mardan (BCHM), longs to play with other children but is too weak due to complications from thalassaemia. Diagnosed when he was just 11 months old, he needs two to three blood transfusions every week to…

Floods and Healthcare

DEVASTATING floods are now an annual emergency in Pakistan. Climate change is hitting hard, manifesting in new weather patterns including cloudbursts. Sudden torrential rainfall, which continues relentlessly, can literally move mountains. This phenomenon was observed in many places in the northern parts of the country. The gushing water sweeps away boulders, trees,…

HPV Vaccine

Pakistan is on the cusp of a major public health breakthrough. From September 15 to 27, the country will launch its first-ever national HPV vaccination campaign – an ambitious yet necessary initiative aimed at protecting millions of girls from cervical cancer, a disease that claims thousands of lives each year…

Education Disrupted

A MIX of natural calamities, terrorism and bureaucratic ineptitude has resulted in difficulties for students in KP’s Khyber tribal district. In fact, the situation in Khyber reminds us of the disruptions in education that tens of thousands of school-age children face across Pakistan because of floods and militancy. As reported,…

Climate Emergency

THE federal cabinet’s decision to declare a climate and agriculture emergency in the country was overdue given the magnitude of devastation resulting from the floods sweeping across Punjab and beyond. The images of inundated fields in thousands of villages, displaced families, destroyed homes and dead livestock underscore the seriousness of the catastrophe. Prime Minister…

School Closures

WHEN schools are closed, especially at times when they are expected to be open, the loss in terms of educational and learning outcomes can be substantial. Out of the 365 days that make up the year, we get only 160 days or so for teaching and learning time, thanks to…

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