LAHORE: The Punjab government on 12th November extended the closure of educational institutions up to the higher secondary level across the province to tackle the hazardous smog situation prevalent for the past few weeks. The provincial capital recorded the highest air quality index (AQI) in the world, surpassing major global cities such as New Delhi and Kinshasa. At its peak on Tuesday, Lahore’s AQI reached an alarming 1,153, while Multan also reported a dangerously
Child Rights in Focus
Currently, 20 districts in Sindh are affected by poliovirus, with 13 confirmed polio cases in the province. However, the Sindh government remains fully committed to eradicating the virus, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah pledged on 12-November-2024. Recent data shows that 66 percent of environmental sampling sites in Sindh are positive for Wild Poliovirus 1, he said during a follow-up meeting with Unicef Representative Abdullah Fadil and UN Resident Coordinator Mohammad Yahya. Education
KARACHI: Children from across Pakistan came together to speak up for their rights at a World Children’s Day commemoration held at the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, asking decision makers to translate their commitments on child rights and climate change into reality. Talented child musicians, performers and child rights champions shared their demands, hopes and dreams for the future through songs, words, and theatre. “Climate change threatens our world, and we are worried about
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on 11th November restrained the provincial authorities from finalising the tendering process for a multibillion-rupee project of reconstructing schools affected by floods in the province. A single-judge bench headed by Justice Mahmood A. Khan also issued notices to the secretaries of the education & literacy and health departments, managing director of the Sindh Public Procurement & Regulatory Authority, director general of the school education and other respondents as
PESHAWAR: Twenty-six drug addicts tested positive for HIV during the health screening conducted by the authorities after their shifting to rehabilitation centres during the ongoing Drug-Free Peshawar campaign. Details shared with Dawn show that since the launch of the programme, authorities have detained over 500 drug addicts from several parts of the city till Sunday. On Monday, 80 more drug addicts were also shifted to the rehabilitation centres, bringing the number close to 600 since the launch of the
SWAT: The Swat police on 11th November booked several parents for ‘coercing’ their children into begging on the streets. Mingora police station SHO Mujeeb Alam Khan told Dawn that over a dozen children were collected from various parts of Mingora and brought to the police station. “They were provided with food and a safe space to share their experiences,” he said. “Several children disclosed that their parents forced them to beg daily, setting them
PESHAWAR: Paediatricians are pinning hopes on the early formation of the Board of Governors for Khyber Institute of Child Health (KICH) and Children Hospital to make the long-awaited project operational by February next year. They said that the Khyber Institute of Child Health and Children Hospital was approved by the federal government in 2008 and was supposed to become operational in five years but the shortage of funds delay the project. They KICH, the
ISLAMABAD: While World Pneumonia Day is being observed today November 12, the disease claims the lives of over 800,000 children every year. The situation in Pakistan is worsening due to the deteriorating air quality caused by smog. This was stated by Dr Irfan Habib, Medical Director at Child Life Foundation. He said the effects of climate change had made conditions like pneumonia harder to control, especially in urban areas with extreme pollution levels. He said working
RAWALPINDI: The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) intercepted a consignment at the Islamabad International Airport that was to be sent to the United Kingdom (Manchester), and recovered 10.4 kg narcotics. According to airport sources, the ANF intercepted the consignment of 69 cartons, containing clothes at the air freight unit (AFU) of the customs. The sources said packets of heroin of more than one kilogramme each were recovered from one of the cartons after which the ANF
Pakistan’s education system spans multiple levels, including compulsory education for children aged 5-16, covering pre-primary to higher secondary education, with 349,909 institutions serving over 56 million students as of 2022-23. Despite improvements, around 26 million children remain out of school, with girls making up a significant portion. The out-of-school crisis worsened due to COVID-19 and floods. Non-Formal Education (NFE) initiatives like Accelerated Learning Programs (ALPs) have been critical in addressing this gap, especially through
In 2023, Pakistan had approximately 26.2 million out-of-school children (OOSC) aged 5-16, up from 23 million due to the impacts of COVID-19 and severe floods. Non-Formal Education (NFE) has been critical in addressing this crisis through flexible and innovative learning models like Accelerated Learning Programs (ALPs), which focus on primary, middle, and vocational levels. A recent “ZERO OOSC Campaign” in Islamabad, supported by NGOs and international partners, successfully enrolled 75,000 out of 87,000 identified
KARACHI: The Sindh Education Foundation (SEF), Government of Sindh, is successfully operating 35 people’s schools across the province, enrolling over 25,000 students and creating a thriving academic community. These schools are fully equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, providing a conducive environment for learning. The SEF has achieved this milestone in just two years. This progress was discussed by Managing Director SEF Abdul Kabir Kazi at the ‘PSP Annual Conference for Performance Review,’ held at a