ISLAMABAD: The Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Human Rights has expressed grave concern over the rapid growth of child begging, child abuse, and the increase of drugs in private and government educational institutions. The committee directed the Ministry of Human Rights and the National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC) to take effective measures to curb such social evils. The Committee emphasized the need for effective legislation and the implementation
Child Rights in Focus
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 from our constraints while building upon our commitments and national resolve to strengthen our climate action. In 2025, we will have a chance to
ISLAMABAD: On the instructions of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, it was decided on 01-January-2025 to introduce Form B with special security features for children above the age of 10 for the first time in history. As part of these new security features, fingerprints and photographs of children aged 10 and above will now be mandatory for Form B. The issuance of the upgraded Form B registration certificate will begin in phases starting January 15.
ISLAMABAD: The Universal Healthcare (UHC) Monitoring Report for Pakistan 2024 – a yearly report that assesses and monitors the progress of the country’s health sector – has revealed that only half of Pakistan’s population has access to UHC. The country lagged far behind in achieving the global target of over 80pc, said the report, which was prepared in collaboration between the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination and the World Health Organisation
SUKKUR: The District Advisory and Implementation Panel has called for devising joint actions for urgent implementation of the Sindh Protection and Promotion of Breastfeeding and Young Child Nutrition Act, 2023. Iqbal Detho, chairperson of the Sindh Human Rights Commission who co-chaired a meeting of the panel organised by the National Advocacy for Rights of Innocent (NARI) Foundation at Sukkur commissioner’s office the other day reaffirmed his support at the policy level, including engagement with
ISLAMABAD: Participants of an awareness session on 1st January urged the Punjab government to raise the minimum age of marriage for girls from 16 to 18 years in the province to ensure a safe future for them. They were attending an event organised by the Potohar Organisation for Development Advocacy (Poda) in collaboration with the Norwegian embassy in Islamabad. Titled ‘Reduce Early Marriages to Enhance Gender Equality’, the moot unanimously agreed to advocate for
LAHORE: The Punjab government on 1st January announced to celebrate January 2025 as ‘Speak Truth’ month in all public school across the province. Punjab School Education Department issued directions to all district education authority chief executive officers in this regard. During the month, the teachers will deliver lectures to students about ‘Speak Truth’ and encourage them to speak truth in daily life. Teaching sessions will commence on Jan 13 and will continue till Jan
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 emergency remained invisible. Ironically, the academic year of 2024 was repeatedly disrupted across the country due to various reasons including governmental decisions as well
Smog, harsh weather and political unrest have significantly impacted the smooth functioning of educational institution LAHORE: In 2024, the academic session in schools and colleges across the province has been severely impacted by various factors, including political turmoil, climate change, and smog, which have together significantly reduced the number of days schools were able to hold in-person classes. According to information obtained by The Express Tribune, out of 262 days in the academic year,
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 months after which matriculation and inter-students will take their annual exams with a shortened syllabus because the current session has been officially reduced to
Balochistan Chief Minister, Mir Sarfraz Bugti, has announced Benazir Bhutto Scholarships for students in the province. He underlined the vital role of partnerships between the government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) at a conference organized by the Department of Social Welfare in Quetta. He shared strategies to advance sustainable development, improve public welfare, and address societal issues across the province. Chief Minister highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships in launching welfare projects designed to enhance
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 years. Time and again, such reports have highlighted the plight of Sindh’s children, yet meaningful action remains elusive. According to the survey, 15.4% of