When summer vacations begin, Sobia Nisar tries to let her six-year-old daughter enjoy the first few weeks without too much structure. There are visits to cousins, occasional trips to the park, time at home, and an effort to keep screen time as low as possible. But keeping a
Education, deemed as the most significant marker for progress in any nation, is kept at an unbelievably low rung of Pakistan’s priority ladder. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the country has a literacy rate of only 62.3%, and around 26.2 million out-of-school children aged 5-16. Late-stage
Pakistan is a signatory to the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, which calls for inclusive and equitable quality education for all by 2030. Unfortunately, the country remains far from achieving this target. According to media reports, the national literacy rate has reached 63%, with male literacy at
It has been over two years since the country declared a National Education Emergency, but Pakistan is still stuck with the second-largest out-of-school population globally. A new comprehensive comparative policy review, prepared by the Civil Services Academy (CSA) and reported on by the media earlier this week, estimates
During the fiscal year 2025-26, Pakistan’s economy demonstrated significant resilience and restored macroeconomic stability, achieving a provisional GDP growth rate of 3.70 percent compared to 3.18 percent the previous year. This positive trajectory was driven by a robust recovery across all major economic sectors, with agriculture expanding by
The magnitude of drug abuse among students in Karachi continues to get worse, despite intervention efforts by the government and social welfare groups. While reliable data is hard to come by due to taboos around the subject, a 2024 survey by the Pakistan Narcotics Control Board found that
Pakistan’s Economic Survey 2025-26 offers a useful yardstick to gauge the state of the country’s health and education sectors over the past year. The assessment, however, offers little cause for celebration. Beneath the government’s claims of gradual progress, Pakistan continues to rank among the poorest performers in South
A DECADE ago, during one of the ‘Growing Up’ sessions I was holding in Karachi schools, I talked to seventh graders about drugs and addiction. Their interest and giggling prompted me to ask whether they knew where drugs could be obtained. They named several locations. Later, I realised
One day Suhana, a Year 6 student, entered the classroom with tears in her eyes. Her teachers had noticed that she had become unusually quiet over the past few months and was continuously failing her assessments. Teachers often called her out, asking her to focus more on studies
Twenty million children are characterised as ‘out of school’ in Pakistan. This figure is alarming on its own. But there is a second, quieter crisis unfolding inside the school system that we’re neglecting. A crisis that never makes the headlines and a crisis no enrollment campaign will solve.
The expanding corruption probe into Sindh’s education boards has laid bare a rot that goes far deeper than initially feared. What began as an investigation into irregularities at the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Mirpurkhas, has now spiralled into a province-wide scandal, implicating senior officials and the
According to estimates, approximately 26.2 million children are out of school, including 13.4 million girls. Between 20% and 28% of school-age children are not enrolled at all, many forced to prioritise survival over education. Why do some children enjoy their right to education while others are denied it?