KARACHI: The provincial government on 27th January tabled the Sindh Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Amendment) Bill in the Sindh Assembly, finally paving the way for bureaucrats to be appointed as chairmen of the boards. Deputy Speaker Anthony Naveed referred the amended bill to the relevant standing committee for consideration after it was introduced by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar. The amended bill contained one of the most controversial provisions enabling
Child Rights in Focus
Wah Cant police have arrested three teachers of a religious seminary for allegedly raping three minor students. The victims were studying at Madrssah Majdiya Noor Fatima Zahra Saleem Nigar. The arrested accused were identified as Ali Akbar, Sameer and Siddiqui. The affected minors were medically examined at the Tehsil Headquaters (THQ) Taxila. The Saddar Wah Police Station registered a case under Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) following the outcome of the
The global climate crisis is wreaking havoc on education systems, leaving millions of children vulnerable to a future of uncertainty. Across the world, 242 million students experienced disruptions to their education in 2024 due to climate-induced hazards, as detailed in Unicef’s Global Snapshot of Climate-Related School Disruptions in 2024. Among the countries hardest hit, Pakistan stands as a stark example, with over 26 million children affected this year alone. In South Asia, a region
Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari was accompanied by Chancellor of SZABIST and Sindh Minister for Health KARACHI: First Lady of Pakistan, Member of the National Assembly, and Chairperson of Sindh Peoples Welfare Trust (SPWT) Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari inaugurated the groundbreaking ceremony for the People’s School, a transformative educational initiative aimed at fostering quality education and youth empowerment. The SPWT, founded by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in February 1987, continues with her legacy of uplifting
The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the police has claimed the arrest of a gangster allegedly involved in kidnapping children for ransom in the Surjani Town area and seized weapons from his possession. According to a spokesperson for the SIU, the SIU police arrested the suspect, Nabeel son of Saleem, in the Tanki Stop Sector 7C area of Surjani Town. The spokesperson stated that the suspect was involved in the kidnapping of two schoolchildren
As the Karachi police have failed to control firing during wedding celebrations, there seems to be no stop to the killings of people due to celebratory gunfire. The latest incident occurred on 26-January-2025 afternoon within the limits of the Sacchal police station where a young girl was killed after being hit by a stray bullet that had been fired in the air during a wedding ceremony. The wedding celebration was taking place at a
Half of the quarter-billion students who faced academic interruptions were in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan KARACHI: In South Asia, the climate crisis has made monsoons fiercer, heatwaves more severe, and floods more relentless —transforming nature’s wrath from a distant threat into an immediate reality that reshapes landscapes, disrupts lives, and deepens vulnerabilities across a wide range of human concerns, including education. According to a recent analysis from UNICEF, in 2024, nearly half of the
Textbooks are distributed free of cost to students from class one to ten. KOTRI: The employees and publishers have rejected the Sindh government’s decision to transform Sindh Textbook Board (STBB) Jamshoro into a corporate entity to run the operation of printing free textbooks. They said that handing over Sindh institutions to private and favoured individuals will not be accepted under any circumstances. MA Bharghari and Hakim Chandio of the All Pakistan Clerks Association said
Formula milk companies are lobbying to have breast milk substitutes or formula milk declared as ‘food’ to remove it from the purview of health and medicine authorities, enabling them to freely market their products without regulatory oversight, health experts warned on 25-January-2025. Leading paediatricians associated with Pakistan Paediatric Association (PPA) and health experts also claimed that efforts are being made to take this matter to the Council of Common Interests (CCI) for approval, which
MUZAFFARABAD: The first smart school in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) was inaugurated on 25th January in a relatively underprivileged area of the state capital, marking a significant milestone in the region’s education sector. This innovative project, part of a larger initiative to establish 40 smart schools across AJK, is a collaboration between the Ministry of Federal Education and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to transform the learning experience for
KARACHI: Sharing concern over the country’s high infant mortality and morbidity rates, health experts on 25th January stated that the single step that can help mothers save the lives of their babies is to breastfeed them, at least exclusively for the first six months of their life. Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, they pointed out that the practice, not only significantly improves the survival rates of infants, improves their
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on 24th January said Pakistan currently faced significant educational challenges, with over 26 million out-of-school children, one of the highest figures globally. Speaking at an event organised by planning ministry in connection with International Day of Education 2025, themed “Bridging the Education Divide: Linking Education to National and Economic Development,” in Islamabad. “Regional disparities, gender gaps, and socio-economic barriers further exacerbate the situation,”