INSTABILITY continues to haunt Balochistan, as Friday morning’s bombing in Mastung has shown. At least nine fatalities have been confirmed — mostly children — while at the time of writing no group had claimed responsibility for this atrocity. Considering Balochistan’s complex vortex of violence, both separatist militants or
PAKISTAN is in the midst of a critical education crisis, with over 22.8 million children aged five to 16 years out of school, placing it second only to Nigeria in this context. The situation is especially dire for girls, with 53 percent out of school as compared to
The Sindh government has stopped the salaries of almost 1,400 absent teachers, and other employees in the education department. Such employees are referred to as ghost employees – a euphemism for the absentees. The issue is chronic in the province’s education department, in particular. According to the District
AT the launching ceremony of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) project to be implemented in Sindh a couple of years ago, I asked the then leader of the initiative whether they had conducted any assessment of teachers’ needs. His response was typical: “We know their needs.” This has
AS the world gets smaller, with knowledge-sharing across borders, the growth of AI and easy access to free learning platforms, teachers find newer ways of teaching. Many schools have addressed the need for change, collaborating within their teams to design better lesson plans, cater to students’ changing learning
WHILE basic education is a constitutional right of every child in Pakistan, millions of children and youth remain deprived of this fundamental means of living a quality life. The recently launched District Education Performance Index (DEPI) by the Ministry of Planning and Development represents a significant step towards
Delhi Government Boys School, Karimabad, tops Karachi’s Matric exams after 28 years, ongoing education issues. After a gap of 28 years, a government school – Delhi Government Boys School, Karimabad – has secured the top position in the recent secondary board examinations in Karachi. The last time a
Over the past few decades, Pakistan has made significant progress in improving its education system. The country expanded free and compulsory education, increased female attendance, and saw major reforms like merit-based teacher recruitment and public-private partnerships (PPPs) to enhance teaching quality. Punjab, for example, doubled the number of
KARACHI: Apropos the letter “Ghost Teachers” published on September 19, 2024, the issue of ghost schools is another sad reality in Pakistan’s education system. These schools exist only in name, with buildings left abandoned and teachers still collecting salaries without fulfilling their responsibilities. However, the problem goes beyond
DEPIx is a comprehensive tool that measures the performance of education systems at the district level, focusing on key outcomes such as access, learning, and equity, processes such as governance, and inputs like public financing and infrastructure. The DEPIx is structured across five domains: Infrastructure & Access, Learning,
With nearly 67 percent of its population below the age of 30, Pakistan stands as one of the youngest nations in the world. This vast youth bulge presents us with a golden opportunity to capitalise on a potential “demographic dividend,” while also presenting the challenge of providing adequate
AS a mother of two school-going children, the record-breaking heatwave experienced in Karachi this year has heightened my concern about the growing impact of climate change on our children’s health, safety, and education. According to the Asian Development Bank, heatwave days in Pakistan increased by 31 days annually