RAWALPINDI: Four girl students from Talagang and Gujar Khan clinched the top three positions in the Higher Secondary School Certification annual examinations 2024, while the formal result will be announced on 4th August 2024. The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Rawalpindi (BISER) announced the names of top position holders on Tuesday. The results will be announced during a ceremony at Fatima Jinnah Women University. Notably, all position holders belong to the Punjab College
Child Rights in Focus
OKARA: Chuchak police claimed on 2nd September to have recovered three minor girls who had allegedly been kidnapped around two weeks back. According to the first information report, on the night of Aug 21, three minor girls from the same family Sahr Fatima (15), Noor Fatima (12), and Sidra Yousaf (14) were kidnapped at gunpoint from an outhouse at Village 5/GD on Renala-Chuchak Road. The suspects, identified as Babar Sohail, Akram, Zohran (wife of
SARGODHA: A man allegedly raped his 16-year-old stepdaughter and threatened her with consequences if she did not remain silent in the Sahiwal area of Sargodha. Her mother also pressured her to stay quiet. However, her brother lodged a report with the Sahiwal police. The police said a widow, who had a daughter and a son from her previous marriage, married the suspect. Recently, when she returned home after being out, she learned from her
ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on September 2 suggested the formation of a task force, comprising representatives from the federal and provincial governments, for judicial reforms to effectively curb incidents of child abuse and violence against women. The minister gave the proposal in the National Assembly in reply to a question from PPP MNA Sharmila Sahiba Faruqui Hashaam. In the absence of an interior minister, Mr Tarar confirmed that there had been a sharp
AS a mother of two school-going children, the record-breaking heatwave experienced in Karachi this year has heightened my concern about the growing impact of climate change on our children’s health, safety, and education. According to the Asian Development Bank, heatwave days in Pakistan increased by 31 days annually between 1980 and 2007, with coastal temperatures rising by one degree Celsius. Pakistan’s temperature rise is set to exceed the global average, making this relentless heat
HYDERABAD: A man accused of killing a child, 10-year-old Tahir Mallah, at his agricultural field on August 3 escaped from the District and Sessions Court following the cancellation of his interim bail. The accused, Agha Zubair Pathan, appeared before the court on 31 August 2024. The judge, however, denied the plea at the request of the prosecution. The police reportedly failed to prevent Pathan’s escape. While commenting on the incident, Sub-Inspector Arsalan Latif Channa
Most schools, a startling 90 percent, reported zero admissions in the new admissions phase which began in government schools following the summer break. The admission phase is scheduled to run from August 15 to August 31. In the initial 10-day period that has passed, from August 15 to August 24, government schools have merely witnessed a trickle of new admissions, with a staggering 90 percent of schools reporting zero new admissions. The overall number
ISLAMABAD: One-third of the total global child population, 766 million, were exposed to extreme heatwaves between July 2023 and June 2024 as temperatures hit new record highs, said a report released by the international non-governmental organisation ‘Save the Children’. The body working for children’s rights said during the same period, 344m children experienced the highest temperature recorded in their location since at least 1980, the report said. Heatwaves also disrupt education through school closures and
ISLAMABAD: Amid concerns that schools in rural areas are lagging behind schools in urban areas in terms of infrastructure and availability of teachers, the education ministry and the Federal Directorate of Education swung into action and visited some schools in rural areas on Sunday, vowing to take steps for their improvement. Recently, a subcommittee of parliament visited six schools in Bhara Kahu and pointed out many deficiencies. The committee members, including Islamabad MNAs Raja
This report provides a focused analysis of girls’ education in Pakistan for the academic year 2022-23, drawing on data from the Pakistan Education Stascs (PES) report(s). It highlights key trends and developments in education indicators. While significant progress has been made in improving facilities and maintaining enrollment levels, the growth rate of girls’ education has stagnated, raising concerns about the sustainability of past gains. Below is a list of the main findings that this
MALNUTRITION has been a primary factor in Pakistan’s disease burden for many years. Recently, the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus, along with representatives from Unicef and Fafen, observed that malnutrition costs Pakistan approximately 3pc of its GDP and highlighted the country’s status as the second highest in diabetic patients, laying significant emphasis on the need for “targeted intervention” with child- and family-related laws and gender-specific social issues to propel impactful policy amendments. At present, four out
PESHAWAR: It was a hot sunny day last June, when six year-old Rabia (not her actual name), went out to play with her friends in the streets on the outskirts of Peshawar. Little did she know that her neighbour, a 14-year-old boy, who had just the other day offered her chocolates, would entice her and take her to an abandoned house for a sexual assault. A sobbing Rabia returned to tell her trauma to