It is heart-rending to see how some issues may hold enough negativity to seed nothing but differences amongst societal units; or perhaps it is our irritating tendency to fail when it comes to dealing strategically with challenges as a nation. Last month I attended a seminar. Once the presentation by the chairperson of Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) was over, a lady addressing herself as a public school teacher raised her concern over how
Child Rights in Focus
This report presents an analysis of data collected by PCE members during a Budget Tracking Activity aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of budget allocation and expenditure at the district level in promoting gender-responsive, disability-inclusive, and disaster-responsive public education. The data was collected from 12 districts through various sources, including one-on-one meetings with District Education Offices, education census reports, and government data portals. The report assesses the success of budget allocation and expenditure in achieving
The Peshawar High Court has ruled that a juvenile accused charged with terrorism-related offence should be tried by a juvenile court notified under the Juvenile Justice System Act, 2018, and not by an anti-terrorism court. A single-member bench consisting of Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim accepted plea of an under-trial juvenile accused and directed that his case should be forthwith transferred to Peshawar juvenile court. The petitioner was arrested after a firing incident on the premises
Daily Tribune in its editorial on 16 April 2023 stressed the need for the government of Pakistan to do everything possible to promote and include all groups in society. According to Daily Tribune, “In 2020, a NADRA survey revealed that there are as many as 371,833 differently-abled children in Pakistan. Despite their large number, we rarely come across persons with disabilities (PWDs) in public spheres due to widespread discrimination and negative attitudes towards them.
Director Shoaib Sultan surprised many by announcing a new film titled “Gunjal,” which focuses on a genre that is rarely explored in Pakistan. While audiences are eagerly awaiting the release of upcoming light-hearted comedy Eid films, Gunjal revisits the murder of child activist Iqbal Masih in 1990s Pakistan. The film stars Ahmed Ali Akbar, Resham, and Aamna Ilyas in lead roles, with Syed Muhammad Ali and Ahmed Ali Butt in supporting roles. Produced by
The International Labour Organization (ILO) conducted a qualitative study on child labour in the Pakistani domestic work sector as part of the Asia Regional Child Labour (ARC) Project. The study examined the lives of these children engaged in domestic work and looked at micro-level “push” factors such as social support, the home environment and children’s and parents’ attitudes towards child labour. At the meso level, the study identified “pull” factors such as working conditions,
THE sentiment to ‘reimagine’ is commendable. We haven’t done well in many things, and should, if possible, ‘reimagine’ and try to do things better. But reimagining doesn’t mean that the solutions we come up with will be easy or straightforward or quickly implemented for results. ‘Reimagining’ may give solutions that require hard work and lots of time to implement. ‘Simple’ and ‘easy’, in policy space, are often not the best or most-needed solutions. Is
The Gilgit Baltistan Child Labour Survey 2018-2019 is the first child labour survey conducted in the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. It was conducted as part of a nationwide survey intended to cover all provinces and territories. It addresses the prevalence of child labour in the region, the causes and consequences of child labour, and additional socio-economic indicators that provide information on the living conditions of children in the region as well as
A team of experts from all provinces and federating units has prepared and endorsed a national curriculum for grades 9 to 12, which will soon be presented to the education minister for final approval. The national curriculum for grades 1 to 8 is already in place in most provinces, except for Sindh. However, experts from Sindh have also endorsed the curriculum for grades 9 to 12. It is expected that students in these grades
The Punjab Child Labour Survey (PCLS) 2019-2020 is the second child labour survey in Punjab province, Pakistan, after the national child survey in 1996, and was conducted as part of a nationwide survey with the aim of covering all provinces and territories. The Punjab Child Labour Survey (PCLS) 2019-2020 provides unique insights into the lives of children and adolescents in the province. It also throws light on their daily routines such as school attendance,
Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is a citizen-led, household-based survey. It was conducted in 2021 during Covid-19 across 152 rural districts of Pakistan assessing the learning outcomes of children aged 5-16 while also collecting information on the impact of the pandemic on learning and other household indicators . The survey gives an overview of the learning competencies (grades 2/3-lower primary) of Pakistan’s children whether in-school or out of school. This survey was conducted
VACCINES are the most cost-effective health care interventions. A dollar spent on a childhood vaccination not only helps save a life, but greatly reduces spending on future healthcare. Ezekiel Emanuel Importance of early childhood vaccination has become somewhat of a universal fact now but somehow Pakistan, a country with 14% of its total population being under-five, is oblivious to this fact. According to UNICEF estimates, the neonatal (newborn) mortality rate for Pakistan in 2021