A high-level meeting co-chaired by Sindh Minister for Education Syed Sardar Ali Shah and the minister for irrigation, planning & development agreed to develop a five-year multi-sectoral roadmap to bring out-of-school children into the education system. Officials said the meeting was attended by Chairman Planning & Development Najam Shah, Secretary School Education Zahid Ali Abbasi, Parliamentary Secretary for Planning & Development Saadia Javed, along with other officials. UNICEF Chief Prem Bahadur Chand and Education
Child Rights in Focus
Yesterday, the government initiated a nationwide polio vaccination campaign, aiming to reach over 45 million children under the age of five. Such drives are meant to signal resolve, yet this one has begun under the shadow of violence, with the martyrdom of a police officer in Hangu, K-P, exposing once again the fragility of security arrangements surrounding one of the country’s most critical public health efforts. The scale of the campaign is formidable, extending
Poverty, food insecurity, gender inequality, and funding – all of these reasons have been used by the government on various occasions to explain why there are 26.2 million children aged 5-16 out of school. A country that has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children is apparently so steeped in economic challenges that it has been unable to substantially rectify its education crisis for decades, all while the prime minister is busy promoting a
A digital transformation has been introduced to the quiet, bustling homes everywhere, replacing the sounds of children playing on the streets. If you visit a typical household today, it is likely to observe a child bent over a phone with headphones in, completely lost in a digital world. At times, they are watching videos, at times, gaming, or just scrolling endlessly, or you’ll find a toddler captivated by a rhythmic Coco melon rhyme while
Child labour in Pakistan remains a structurally embedded challenge, especially within the private sector where informal, home-based, and subcontracted production systems dominate. Despite constitutional protections, significant implementation gaps and weak enforcement continue to undermine prevention and monitoring, particularly in sectors like agriculture, brick kilns, and domestic work. This issue is driven primarily by poverty, household vulnerability, and barriers to education, which are reinforced by fragmented legal frameworks and weak alignment between labour and education
ISLAMABAD: In a revelation that underscores a massive gap between legislative intent and ground reality, it has emerged that private educational institutions (PEIs) in the federal capital are allegedly pocketing between Rs5 billion and Rs6 billion annually by failing to implement a mandatory 10 per cent scholarship quota for deserving students. The controversy surfaced before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) during the proceedings of a writ petition filed against fee structures of private schools.
KARACHI: A sessions court has sentenced a young man to 10-year imprisonment for raping a teenage girl. Additional District and Sessions Judge (Central) Mirza Tauseef Ahmed, after hearing arguments and examining evidence from the prosecution and defence sides, found Zeeshan alias Shani guilty of committing rape with the teenage girl while she was alone at her home. The court also directed the convict to pay Rs100,000 as compensation for the anguish and psychological damage
MANSEHRA: The Elementary and Secondary Education Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has filled the vacant teaching posts and introduced double shifts in the Torghar schools to enhance the literacy rate in the district. Speaking to reporters on Monday, district education officer Shamsur Rehman said that 76 teaching posts of various cadres had been filled and the newly-appointed teachers would be posted to government primary, middle, high, and higher secondary schools across the district. “In the past,
KARACHI: The Sindh government has launched a high-level investigation into serious allegations of corruption and irregularities at the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK), particularly concerning the questionable shifting /change of examination centres for students taking matriculation exams. On the directive of Sindh Minister for Universities and Boards Muhammad Ismail Rahu, a fact-finding inquiry committee was formed on Sunday. According to a spokesperson, the committee has been tasked with completing its inquiry within a
PESHAWAR: Overpopulation is increasingly being recognised as a major driver leading to poverty, unemployment and widening socioeconomic inequalities, casting long shadows over human development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. As dusk settles over Mohib Banda, a small village in Pabbi tehsil, Nowshera, 28-year-old Shagufta Bibi lights a candle in the corner of her modest kitchen. The faint glow flickers across worn-out schoolbooks as her children prepare for their matriculation exams. Nearby, a faded photograph rests against
LAHORE: Punjab Assembly’s Standing Committee on Local Government and Community Development has made a significant step by setting 18 years as the minimum legal age of marriage for both boys and girls across the province, abolishing the earlier provision that had permitted girls for marriage at the age of 16. The committee unanimously approved the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026 to curb child marriages and strengthen child protection laws in the province. It
Every year, as examinations begin under the Board of Secondary Education Karachi, the same pattern of disruption and disorder resurfaces, exposing an examination system that appears incapable of learning from its own repetition. What should be a routine, well-oiled operation instead descends into confusion, placing an unfair burden on students at the most critical point of their academic year. This year is no different. With over 385,000 candidates appearing across Karachi, reports of last-minute