LAHORE: In a bid to tackle the worsening air quality and protect public health, the Punjab Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a province-wide change in school timings effective from 3rd November. According to the order issued by Punjab EPA Director General Dr Imran Hamid Sheikh, all public and private schools, as well as special education centres across the province, shall not open before 8:45am from Nov 3, 2025, and the new timing would remain in
Child Rights in Focus
TOBA TEK SINGH: The principal of a private school in Gojra was attacked and injured by the shopkeepers who were harassing the female students of his school. In his FIR, registered by Gojra City police, Muhammad Saeed, the principal of Al Barkat Girls High School, Painsara Road, said the schoolgirls had complained to him that when they passed by the aluminum workshop on way to school, its owner, Nadeem, and five other shopkeepers did
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) on October 31 formed a monitoring cell to ensure effective oversight of educational institutions working under its administrative control. According to a notification issued by FDE, Principal Islamabad Model School for Boys (VI-X) G-9 Inam Jahangir has been given the additional charge of the director monitoring FDE. Assistant Director Hafiz Farhan Akram, who was waiting for posting, has been appointed as assistant director monitoring. The FDE has
BAHAWALPUR: A ten-year-old girl, who was allegedly abducted from her house on the night of October 30, was found murdered in the fields at 110/ DB village in the Yazman Saddar police limits on October 31. According to the district police spokesman, Siddique, the father of the victim, Rabia (10), said in his complaint that his daughter disappeared mysteriously from his house on Thursday night. On Siddique’s complaint, the police initially registered a kidnapping
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Federal Education on October 31 announced that the Daanish School in Kuri will be completed by the end of December, and classes are scheduled to begin in the upcoming academic session starting March–April 2026. Parliamentary Secretary for Education Farah Naz Akbar visited the under-construction Daanish School in Kuri to review the progress of ongoing development work. Officials briefed her that the project was advancing at full pace, with 82 per
GUJRAT: A seven-year-old boy died on October 31 and his two siblings were in a critical condition, allegedly after eating poisonous crackers (papad) a couple of days back, at Alipur Chattha town of Wazirabad district, on Friday. Reports say that three minor brothers – Kazim, Qasim and Hashim – ate crackers from a local food outlet at Alipur Chattha on Wednesday, the last. Immediately after eating the snacks, the children fell sick. As the
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Norway have agreed to expand cooperation in the education sector, focusing on digital learning, teacher training, technical education, and inclusive learning opportunities. The understanding came during a meeting between Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training Wajiha Qamar and Norway’s Minister of Education Kari Nessa Nordtun on the sidelines of the 43rd UNESCO General Conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, said a press release issued here on Friday. During the meeting,
BUREWALA: A 14-year-old boy lost his life after falling into a burning furnace while working at the kiln. Witnesses said Ali Hasan, who was performing his usual duties, lost balance and slipped into the fire. He sustained severe burns and succumbed to his injuries despite rescue efforts. Rescue teams rushed the boy to a nearby hospital, but doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. His body was later handed over to the family after legal
ISLAMABAD: Following the example of Sindh and Islamabad, the Punjab government is set to introduce the Child Marriage Restraint Act, fixing the minimum legal age for marriage at 18 years. Those found violating the law will face strict punishment. This was revealed by Qaisar Mehmood, Divisional Coordinator of the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women, during an international conference on the age of marriage held at a local hotel on Thursday. The day-long
SARGODHA: Three boy students of a private school gang-raped over dozen of students and made their videos to blackmail them. Two of them were arrested by the Satellite Town police after the regional police officer took notice of the complaint of the mother of a gang-rape survivor boy on social media. According a police report, the gang had allegedly gang-raped a boy of their school at gunpoint, made his video and made it viral
The world’s leading researchers, clinicians, survivors, and health advocates gathered in Bangkok for the 37th International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS) Conference, a pivotal meeting themed ‘Research Toward the Global Elimination of HPV-related Diseases and Cancers’. Held on October 23-26, against the dazzling backdrop of Thailand’s capital, the conference became more than a scientific event. It was a moment of reckoning — and hope. The human papillomavirus (HPV) continues to fuel cervical, head-and-neck, and other cancers
ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that it is partnering with the Pakistan government to train over 140,000 health workers for the upcoming nationwide measles and rubella (MR) vaccination campaign, which aims to protect 35.4 million children aged six to 59 months. The preventive drive, scheduled from Nov 17 to 29, 2025, will supplement routine immunisation efforts and address an immunity gap that could otherwise put more than 6.7m children under five