Perspective - Page 3

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…

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…

Beyond Schools

IN 2019, when I was teaching full time, our institute collaborated with a university in Canada in their Global Reporting Programme where three of our students, along with students in Kenya and the US, were selected to work on an academic year-long project. The three students and I would log…

Vulnerable Vaccinators

THE campaign to eradicate polio from Pakistan cannot succeed unless the safety of vaccinators and security personnel on the front lines of this battle is guaranteed. According to one count, over 200 polio workers and police personnel have been martyred in the field since the 1990s. The latest tragedy occurred…

Reforming Seminaries

Religious schools, or madrasas, have been integral to the cultural and educational landscape of the subcontinent and the broader Muslim world for centuries. At the time of the independence, around 250 madrasas existed in Pakistan. Since then, these religious institutions have experienced exponential growth, with tens of thousands of them…

Rape And Low Conviction

Pakistan’s low conviction rates for sexual assault highlight the urgent need for legal reform and victim protection. Sexual assault remains a massive problem in Pakistan, where a worryingly high offence rate pairs with an abysmal conviction rate, creating a recipe for disaster. Reliable data on sexual assault and related crimes…

Transport For Schooling

A JUDGE at the Lahore High Court recently ordered that schools should arrange for and organise transport for schoolchildren by the end of the winter break. The order came in the hearings on the case about smog in Lahore. The use of public transport for schooling is expected to reduce vehicular traffic…

Child Abuse At Work

Child workers in Pakistan face abuse, exploitation, and neglect. Stricter laws and actions are essential The suffering of child workers, especially in domestic households, is a harsh reminder of society’s failure to protect its most vulnerable members. In Pakistan, many children face severe physical and mental abuse, with their pain…

Karachi’s Missing Children

The Karachi police have no leads in at least 230 cases of children that have gone missing since January 2023. Meanwhile, a total of 2,066 cases relating to missing or kidnapped children have been registered since January 2023, with 1,828 of them being recovered safely. Data shared at a top-level…

Smog and Schooling

WHETHER schools are open or closed, it is not going to have much of an impact on smog levels across Punjab. The decision about closing schools has more to do with some notion that children will be less exposed to the smog if they stay at home than if they…