RAWALPINDI: A high-level committee formed on the orders of the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court has finalised recommendations for a province-wide academic calendar comprising 190 working days in schools and colleges across Punjab. The proposals include reducing summer vacations from two-and-a-half months to six weeks or one and a half months. The committee held three meetings over the past four months and presented its joint recommendations in the third meeting. Under the
Child Rights in Focus
LAHORE: At least 658 children ran away from their homes and were intercepted at railway stations across Pakistan in 2025, many citing hunger, lack of basic necessities and corporal punishment at home and in schools, according to data released by the Pakistan Railways Police. Official data shared with The Express Tribune shows that during 2025, railway police intercepted 658 runaway children across the country, including 413 boys and 245 girls, who had reached various railway stations
PAKISTAN’s education system has struggled to evolve beyond traditional patterns where reproduction is prioritised over the application of knowledge and skills. Thinkers such as John Dewey and Paulo Freire have long argued that education should connect classrooms with lived realities, and be outcome-oriented. An Outcome-Based Education system (OBE) has gained currency globally over the last three decades, while Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) became popular in Pakistan after they were included in the National Curriculum
HYDERABAD: A minor girl, allegedly subjected to rape and a post-rape torture in which she sustained multiple wounds of cuts with a sharp object including one on her tongue, has booked a young man in the rape FIR at Chautiarion police station in Sanghar district. The accused Wazeer Rajar, son of an influential and politically affiliated landlord Waris Rajar, remains at large. The initial medical report by government hospital Sanghar has established rape and
SUKKUR: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Thursday obtained a five-day remand of all eight suspects nominated in the alleged gang-rape in the RD-44 police station of Jacobabad district about a week ago. The FIA had registered a new FIR (No. CC-LRK (Acc)-1/2026) against two SHOs and their six subordinates and arrested them. The suspects were produced in a court to obtain their remand. The victim had earlier objected before a judge that the
TAXILA: An estranged man shot dead his father- and mother-in-law and two minor children in Pind Mehri village in Hassanabdal before committing suicide on January 22. Sources in the Hassanabdal police said that Nasir, a resident of Haripur, had contracted marriage with his cousin in Pind Mehri village in the outskirts of Hassanabdal six years ago. The couple developed differences over domestic issues and the woman started living with her parents a couple of
MAILSI: The Punjab government’s flagship welfare and education initiative, the School Nutrition Programme, has been formally launched in Tehsil Mailsi with the aim of protecting children from malnutrition and improving their learning abilities by providing balanced nutritional support. The programme is being implemented across District Vehari, including Tehsil Mailsi, under the Punjab government’s vision of “Health and Education Together.” According to official figures, there are 593 government primary schools in District Vehari with a
ISLAMABAD: The Parliamentary Caucus on Child Rights (PCCR) has underlined the importance of introducing “Good Touch, Bad Touch” education in school curricula to create awareness among children and pre-empt abuse. The caucus held a meeting at the Parliament House, which was also attended by provincial and regional coordinators. Convenor PCCR Dr Nikhat Shakeel Khan chaired the meeting, which deliberated on pressing child rights issues across the country. The forum served as a platform for
SUKKUR: Police produced a Hindu girl, who converted to Islam and contracted free-will marriage, before a court on January 21 in Jacobabad. The judge recorded statements of the girl and her parents and ordered that the girl be sent to Darul Aman (a women’s shelter) for a few days. Outside the court, she told reporters: “No one kidnapped me. I left home of my own free will, converted to Islam and married Naseebullah Pathan
LAHORE: The growing population of stray dogs in Punjab has become a serious concern for public safety and animal welfare, as dog bite incidents rise alongside reports of inhumane killings, highlighting gaps in the implementation of existing policies. In a recent case, Yasir Khan, a father of four from Umerkay Kalan in Sambrial tehsil, Sialkot, reportedly died after being bitten by a stray dog. Official data indicates that nearly 150,000 people across Punjab have
RAWALPINDI: To cope with a severe financial crisis, education boards have imposed what has been described as a massive “fee bomb” on students appearing in board examinations. A new charge for the installation of CCTV cameras at examination centres has also been levied on students, along with an additional Rs900 under a newly introduced miscellaneous fee. The certificate fee, previously Rs550, has been increased to Rs1,000. As a result of new fees and taxes,
SUKKUR: Six policemen, including an assistant sub-inspector, were arrested and booked in a case pertaining to subjecting a girl to a sexual assault during custody in a Jacobabad police station, officials said on January 19. The FIR was registered after Jacobabad SSP Mohammad Kaleem Malik conducted an inquiry into allegations levelled by the victim girl in a video statement. A preliminary medical examination report also confirmed that the victim was subjected to gang rape.