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…

Juvenile Offenders in Punjab

The total number of convicted and undertrial juveniles imprisoned in various borstal institutes and jails of Punjab province was 645 as on 15 March 2022 (Prisons Department, Govt. of Punjab). Out of the total number of juvenile offenders, 81% (523) juveniles were on trial (under trial) and 19% were convicted…

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.…

Grace Marks by Sindh Government

In a move as surprising as it is contentious, the Sindh provincial…

Biometrics For Kids

ALTHOUGH the move has caused panic among weary parents mortified at the thought of carting their children to Nadra offices, the interior ministry’s recent directive to incorporate biometric features into Form B for 10-18-year-olds is not without its merits. While the immediate catalyst for this decision remains unclear, historical instances…

Learning From A Child

MY daughter, who is seven and a half, is my latest teacher. She is in grade two. She gets a fair bit of homework and she is kind enough that she lets me sit with her when she is doing her homework. I started sitting with her to see if…

Climate Resolutions 2025

2025 will be a year of new openings and possibilities for Pakistan. Several initiatives started during the outgoing year will approach completion and offer opportunities to integrate economic and climate priorities. For Pakistan, economic and climate vulnerabilities reinforce each other and hence they must be addressed simultaneously. We will learn…

A Year Of Interupted Learning

School days were repeatedly disrupted in 2024 due to political events, climate emergencies & govt decisions LAHORE/PESHAWAR/QUETTA:Twice this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared an education emergency. He drew attention to Pakistan’s education crisis of having 26 million out-of-school children. Yet both times, the reaction on ground to tackle this…

Education System Bedevilled By Instability

KARACHI. The matric and intermediate session for the academic year 2024/25 has been converted into a semester system due to the poor strategy and lack of planning exhibited by the Education Department in Sindh. This is the only session in which teaching will continue for barely six and a half…

Stolen Childhoods

Acknowledging a problem is the first step toward resolving it, and Sindh’s recognition of the alarming prevalence of child marriages and child labour is a necessary but overdue move. Figures recently revealed in the Sindh School Education and Literacy Department survey are just one of many studies conducted over the…

Madrassa Bill

The rift over the assent for the madrassa bill has come to a pass. The President of the Republic has finally signed it into law after a hiatus, which apparently was aimed at arm-twisting an ally of the coalition government. The JUIF, which was part of the controversial 26th amendment…

Courts Must Prioritise Best Interests Of Child: SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has held that as the custodians of justice, the courts must adopt a child justice approach that prioritizes the best interests of the child, recognizing their vulnerabilities, developmental needs, and potential. A two-member bench of the apex court – comprising Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and…

Suicidal Behaviour

CHILDREN constitute around 45 percent of the Pakistani population, with 22.7pc adolescents from 10 to 19 years. Along with their educational, safety and physical health needs, there is also an urgent need to prevent and respond to their mental health challenges. The WHO estimates that 15pc of the global burden…

CAN MADRESSAHS BE MAINSTREAMED?

Madressah reform continues to be a major challenge. Since the state is not in a position to outrightly ban madressahs and immediately replace them with regular schools, attempts to mainstream them by encouraging them to incorporate worldly subjects are widely considered the only other alternative. However, actual enrolment trends seem…