PESHAWAR: The elementary and secondary education department has decided to transform two higher secondary schools each for boys and girls at district level into centres of excellence (CoEs), with the objective to provide quality education by incorporating modern teaching methods. The proposed CoEs will have well-trained faculty, advanced technology and state-of-the-art infrastructure, according to elementary and secondary education secretary Mohammad Khalid. He told Dawn that the initiative emphasised academic excellence, character building, innovation and
Child Rights in Focus
ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) on October 29 voiced concern over the continued high rates of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies among women and children. The task force had a consultation with key stakeholders regarding food fortification at Parliament House. The initiative is in line with Pakistan’s international development commitments specifically with Sustainable Development Goals which include: ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture. The consultation is
HYDERABAD: Market police have lodged a case against a professor of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) Jamshoro and several doctors of Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) Hyderabad under judicial orders passed on an application of Amir Lutuf Zardari about the death of his son Hasnain Zardari (17), who was suffering from dengue, due to the alleged negligence in the hospital. The case was lodged under Section 302 PPC vide crime No. 316/25 on
SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: Unidentified armed men on Oct 29 attacked a government high school in Azam Warsak area of Lower South Waziristan’s Birmal tehsil, looting valuable equipment and damaging the building. Locals said the attackers vandalised classrooms, damaged doors, windows and boundary wall. They said the assailants entered the school early in the morning and took away furniture, electrical equipment and other educational materials. The incident spread panic in the area, while parents expressed deep
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has observed that criminal networks are exploiting children, often through poverty, lack of education or coercion, and that stronger child protection laws and rehabilitation programmes are needed to combat it. A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Omar Sial, also remarked that the state has indeed failed to fulfil its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and noted that if a child was involved in
KARACHI: A sessions court declined a bail plea of a teacher in a case pertaining to raping a 13-year-old boy on the roof of an academy located in District Central. The suspect had filed an application before Additional District and Session Judge (Central) Mirza Tauseef Ahmed and sought post-arrest bail in the case. After hearing the complainant’s counsel Abida Bibi and the defence side, the court rejected the plea and observed that there are
OVER the past two decades, Pakistan has faced several HIV eruptions and the ignominy of ranking second among nations with the sharpest rise in HIV cases in the Asia-Pacific region. Sadly, not even the scale of the crisis has spurred the government into action. The Sindh health minister has been told about the “extremely alarming” HIV spread, which includes 3,995 registered HIV positive children in the province and over 600,000 fake doctors; 40pc operate
LAHORE: Muslim scholars and researchers from six countries call for setting 18 years as the minimum age for marriage of girls for what they say building a strong Ummah. The scholars from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, and Yemen were brought together at a consultation on ‘Marriage age legislations and Muslim family laws’ jointly organised by the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW), the Women Development Department (WDD), Punjab government and Potohar
ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organisation (WHO) and its global partners have called upon governments to recognise public health as the most powerful driver behind climate action since, according to a new report, “continued overreliance on fossil fuels” and failure to “adapt to a heating world” are already having a devastating toll on human health. The report, titled “Countdown on Health and Climate Change” and prepared by the journal Lancet, said 12 of the 20 key
LAKKI MARWAT: Office-bearers of teachers’ bodies have hailed the Peshawar High Court’s decision to stop outsourcing of government-run schools and colleges, saying that the historic court judgment would protect the province’ education system from going into the hands of the private sector. Talking to a group of journalists in Bannu on October 29, Gul Rauf Khan, former senior vice-president of the all teachers association and other leaders, said that it was the prime responsibility
The world treats defence as an existential priority – and rightly so, because lapses in readiness can trigger cascading crises. Climate change now carries the same gravity for vulnerable regions like Pakistan and whole of South Asia. It shuts factories during heatwaves, collapses bridges in flood season, pushes food and energy prices higher and strains public order. It is a traditional security threat because it erodes the very systems that keep a country stable
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on October 28 issued notices to the provincial government, the health department and other relevant authorities to submit replies in a petition regarding the spread of dengue and chikungunya and the lack of preventive measures. During the hearing, Justice Ijaz Anwar remarked that dengue cases had significantly increased this year and directed the government to inform the court about the steps taken to control the situation. The case