perspective-education - Page 8

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…

The Case for Teaching Punjabi in Schools

THE chief minister of Punjab, Ms Maryam Nawaz, has said that Punjabi will be taught across schools in the province. This was announced at the Punjab Culture Day ceremony last week. It is a welcome announcement. Some 80 million people speak Punjabi in Pakistan and, worldwide, Punjabi speakers number around…

How many more children will we sacrifice?

Nazir left home in a fury to locate his 12-year-old son, Shaheer,…

New Textbooks For Grade 1 To 5 To Be Delivered In Two Weeks

ISLAMABAD: The supply of newly developed textbooks for grade 1 to 5…

Educational Divide

WHILE basic education is a constitutional right of every child in Pakistan, millions of children and youth remain deprived of this fundamental means of living a quality life. The recently launched District Education Performance Index (DEPI) by the Ministry of Planning and Development represents a significant step towards comparing the…

Subpar Schooling

Delhi Government Boys School, Karimabad, tops Karachi’s Matric exams after 28 years, ongoing education issues. After a gap of 28 years, a government school – Delhi Government Boys School, Karimabad – has secured the top position in the recent secondary board examinations in Karachi. The last time a government-run school…

Ghost Schools

KARACHI: Apropos the letter “Ghost Teachers” published on September 19, 2024, the issue of ghost schools is another sad reality in Pakistan’s education system. These schools exist only in name, with buildings left abandoned and teachers still collecting salaries without fulfilling their responsibilities. However, the problem goes beyond just missing…

EDUCATION: THE STATE OF SCHOOLING IN PAKISTAN

With nearly 67 percent of its population below the age of 30, Pakistan stands as one of the youngest nations in the world. This vast youth bulge presents us with a golden opportunity to capitalise on a potential “demographic dividend,” while also presenting the challenge of providing adequate services, jobs…

Schools And Climate

AS a mother of two school-going children, the record-breaking heatwave experienced in Karachi this year has heightened my concern about the growing impact of climate change on our children’s health, safety, and education. According to the Asian Development Bank, heatwave days in Pakistan increased by 31 days annually between 1980…

Climate-driven Child Marriages

The prevalence of child marriages in certain parts of Pakistan, as exemplified by the recent reports of 45 underage girls being married off in Khan Muhammad Mallah village of Dadu in Sindh province, is utterly unacceptable. The directive issued by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to launch a thorough investigation…

Skills and Success

Someweeks ago, the Federal Directorate of Education and Professional Training organised a wonderful summer fiesta for schoolchildren, with a wide range of skill-based workshops, seminars, lectures and activities. This kind of immersive experience with creative writing, financial literacy, digital technology, and so forth, is the urgent need for students who…

MDCAT: A False Hope On The Horizon

The costs of depriving meritorious individuals of entry into the healthcare system manifest as healthcare breakdowns. Though the announcements of academic opportunities and exams in a transparent socioeconomic and political setting might elicit excitement among prospective aspirants, the same in our part of the world ignites cascades of desperation and…

When Education Meets Land Grab

Imagine this: A bully enters a man’s dwelling and forces him to sign over ownership of a large piece of his land at gunpoint. To lend this theft the thinnest air of legitimacy, the bully throws the landowner a bone and puts a sale price on the papers that is…

What Next After Enrolment?

Twenty-six million. This figure has been doing the rounds in print and digital media for quite some time now. This is the total number of out-of-school children and adolescents (OOSCA) in Pakistan, the second highest in the world, according to the Pakistan Education Statistics. This number is 39 percent of…