KHYBER: Frustrated with an impasse in dialogue with the government regarding the return of the remaining displaced families, Kukikhel elders on September 8 announced to boycott the polio vaccination campaign till their demands were met. Announcing the unanimous decision of the protesting tribesmen camped in Bhagiyaree area, Malak Naseer Ahmad warned that a fine of Rs10,000 would be imposed on the person found ‘guilty’ of administering polio vaccine to his children in the Kukikhel-inhabited
Child Rights in Focus
NAROWAL: A teacher of a private school at Shakargarh allegedly raped a minor boy, a Class VI student, and fled away. The victim’s uncle, Umar Daraz, a resident of Shakargarh, in his written complaint to the police, said his 12-year-old nephew, is a student of Class VI at a private school in Gumtala Chowk area of Shakargarh. He alleged that a schoolteacher ‘Z’, a resident of Nathukot, stopped my nephew after the school timings
QUETTA: More than 3,500 schools in Balochistan are non-functional due to a shortage of teachers, the provincial education department has disclosed. In a written reply to a query posed by a Balochistan Assembly member, the department revealed that 542 schools have been closed since the new government took power in February, taking the total number of non-functional girls and boys schools to 3,694 in all 35 districts. However, the reply could not be presented
LAHORE: Punjab is all set to roll out a special polio eradication campaign from today (9th September 2024), targeting 13.9 million children for vaccination against the crippling disease. The campaign, which will be kicked off in 15 districts of the province, is being considered a key step toward blocking local poliovirus circulation. The districts where the drive is being launched include Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Attock, Chakwal, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Multan, DG Khan, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Rahim
ISLAMABAD: In their messages on International Literacy Day, the president and prime minister have highlighted the challenge of millions of out-of-school children and vowed to increase the literacy rate to “transform” Pakistan. According to the detailed results of the 7th Population and Housing Census conducted last year, around 25.37m children between the ages of five and 16 are currently out of school. More than 20.03m never went to school, while over 5.34m dropped out
KARACHI: Representatives from global and local institutions working for the advancement of education, social figures, scholars, and others emphasised that efforts to increase education and literacy in Sindh should prioritise providing basic education in children’s mother tongue. Furthermore, steps to promote multilingual education should be strengthened so that future generations can enhance communication and learn from one another. These thoughts were expressed by the speakers during an event held at Karachi’s Marriott Hotel in
ISLAMABAD: In a step towards safeguarding educational institutions across the country, the National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF) in partnership with the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training has launched the NatCat Safe School Application, a digital tool designed to enhance the safety and resilience of school infrastructures across Pakistan. The application was jointly launched by CEO NDRMF, Bilal Anwar and Federal Secretary of Education Mohyuddin Wani as part of the government’s ongoing
ISLAMABAD: International Literacy Day is being observed on September 8 to remind policy-makers, practitioners, and the public of the critical importance of literacy for creating a more literate, just, peaceful, and sustainable society. Unesco highlights that the lack of access to education remains a significant barrier, as three out of four children in developing countries cannot read or comprehend a basic text by the age of 10, and there are still 754 million illiterate
RAWALPINDI: In the wake of the positive case of polio in Islamabad and the detection of a positive environmental sample in Attock, an anti-polio campaign will be launched in the garrison city on September 9. Deputy Commissioner Dr. Hassan Waqar Cheema directed the District Health Authority to ensure the successful execution of the campaign, aiming to immunise over one million children. Dr. Cheema emphasised focusing on highly sensitive union councils. Special teams have been
LAHORE: The Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) and several private universities signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at Arfa Karim Tower on Saturday to implement the Rs7bn CM Honahar Scholarship Programme 2024 for undergraduate students. Punjab Minister for School Education Rana Sikander Hayat, PHEC Chairman Dr. Shahid Munir, Higher Education Department (HED) Secretary Dr Farrukh Naveed, rectors from the top seven universities in Pakistan, representatives from private universities, including Dr. Ali Cheema, Dr Aftab
BAJAUR: Students of the government higher secondary school for boys Khar-2 here the other day staged a protest against the shortage of staff and absence of facilities in the institution located in Haji Lawang area. The protesting students, who were chanting slogans in favour of their demands, blocked the main Khar-Mardan road for some time. The demonstrators pointed out that their school was the second largest and most crowded institution in the entire district,
BAHAWALPUR: Three minors, including a seven-year-old girl and two boys, were allegedly raped in separate incidents in Multan and Lodhran, while two women were raped in Narowal and Bahawalnagar. In Multan’s Shah Rukn-i-Alam Colony, a seven-year-old maid was reportedly raped after her employer sent her to a different house. The alleged survivor was found in poor health after three days and admitted to a hospital. Her mother reported the incident to the police but