RAWALPINDI: Punjab government has released Rs189.132 million for the repair of 98 educational institutions in the district. District Education Authority Chief Executive Officer Tariq Mehmood told Dawn that the provincial government has released the first installment of funds worth Rs189.132 million for construction and repair works including additional rooms, new toilets and boundary walls in 98 educational institutions of Rawalpindi district. He said the construction work will be carried out in 15 higher secondary
Child Rights in Focus
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has become one of the fastest-growing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemics in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region with new infections rising by 200pc over the last 15 years – from 16,000 in 2010 to 48,000 in 2024. This information as shared with participants of a walk organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNAIDS on World AIDS Day. While HIV predominantly affected high-risk groups in the past, it is now spreading
A 16-year-old boy, driving a white SUV, struck and killed two young women riding a scooter on Secretariat Chowk opposite the metro station in Islamabad on the night of 1st December. According to the remand report, he struck the girls as he was recording a video for Snapchat. The two victims, Samreen, aged 25, and Tabbinda, 27, worked part-time with an events management group at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts. Their scooter
Following the arrest of hundreds of students, young motorcycle riders and other traffic violators — and a surge of bail seekers crowding Lahore’s courts — the Punjab government has moved to ease immediate enforcement pressures and launch a large public-awareness drive on the province’s new, stricter traffic rules. The shift comes as Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also agreed, in principle, to issue smart cards to 16-year-olds and allow them to obtain motorcycle driving licences,
RAWALPINDI: Health authorities failed to vaccinate 42,681 children for measles and rubella in Rawalpindi district. However, the 13-day measles and rubella vaccination campaign concluded with 96 per cent of the target achieved. One case of an adverse reaction to the vaccine was reported; however, the child’s condition stabilised swiftly. Some private educational institutions created obstacles for teams attempting to administer the measles-rubella vaccine. According to the details, between November 17 and 29 November, the
SAHIWAL: A prayer leader in Farid Town has been booked for allegedly torturing two of his students after they failed to memorise their Quranic lesson. The case was registered on the complaint of Robina Bibi, the mother of victims Ali Raza (12) and Ali Abbas (10) who were real brothers, while their father, Muhammad Sabir, was an expatriate residing abroad and a native of village 93/6-R. The complaint said that the children were enrolled
PESHAWAR: At just 13, Aleeza (name changed to protect privacy) wanted to play with peers and live a carefree life, but like many girls of that age, a marriage proposal came knocking on her family’s door. The little girl’s aunt approached her mother, suggesting to marry her off five years down the line. But promises, it turned out, could be as fragile as a child’s dream. The aunt changed her mind and the wedding
EACH year, World AIDS Day arrives with new statistics but an old question: why is HIV/AIDS still a critical problem? Despite decades of interventions, glaring inequalities and complacency remain the primary reasons for the elevated numbers. UNAIDS says 40.8m people are living with HIV globally, 9.2m are not “accessing antiretroviral therapy treatment”, and 1.3m new infections surfaced in 2024 — the year when HIV-related causes claimed 630,000 lives. Pakistan is not safe. With the
The Rawalpindi Board of Education has announced that the deadline for the submission of the annual Matriculation exam forms has been further extended. In the circular distributed by the education board, the last date to submit the forms with a single fee has been shifted to December 10. Forms with a double fee can be submitted until December 23, and with a triple fee until January 6. The exams will commence from March 3,
After 15 hours of search, the body of three-year-old Ibrahim, who fell into a manhole near Nipa Chowrangi, was recovered by Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) rescue teams near Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology on Monday. The boy’s body had travelled nearly half a kilometre downstream.The manhole was located directly in front of Karachi’s Chase Up Center — a two-by-two-foot uncovered gutter with no protective cover or barrier for pedestrians. Ibrahim, son of
PESHAWAR: As part of reforms, the elementary and secondary education department is working on a proposal to delegate academic, financial and administrative powers to public educational institutions in the province through a cluster formation of higher secondary schools with its feeder high, middle and primary schools, reveals secretary Mohammad Khalid. “The proposed school clusters will be strategically led by their respective board of governors and operationally through the cluster leads who will be heads
MANSEHRA: Speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Babar Saleem Swati on November 29 said that the provincial government was committed to providing every child with formal education as one of its top priorities. “I am pleased to attend this function. You must be patriotic Pakistanis, and whether you become jurists, soldiers or politicians, you must remain loyal to the oath you take and fulfil it in letter and spirit,” Mr Swati told the Parents’