Reclaiming education
Education is the biggest marker of upward mobility in a society. For a nation to grow intellectually, economically and socially, it is vital that its children are offered education without barriers. Unfortunately, the current climate of Pakistan's progress is severely handicapped by its 25.37 million out-of-school children — as revealed by a recent report titled 'Pakistan's Non-Formal Education Report 2023-24', launched in Islamabad last week.
This crisis ranks Pakistan as the country with the world's second-highest number of out-of-school children, surpassed only by Nigeria. With around one third of children aged 5-16 out of school, Pakistan is facing an education emergency it cannot afford to ignore.
In a post-Covid reality further marred by the recent floods, existing social inequalities driving these high numbers of out-of-school children have only been exacerbated. The number of children receiving an education in rural areas is alarmingly low, but even lower for girls who face compounded barriers due to gender and geography.
The urgency of this situation has welcomed an alternative that provides children accessible and versatile learning opportunities. Non-Formal Education (NFE) is a structured and intentional form of education that focuses both on academic and skills-based training, without relying on a traditional mode of education that is often unapproachable for many.
In an increasingly digital and postmodern world, the disruption of pre-existing structures can be exactly the lifeline that Pakistani children currently need. Through Accelerated Learning Programs (ALP), education and training would be able to cross regional barriers and reach out-of-school children to bring them back within the system.
While NFE is already enshrined in the Pakistan's Constitution and has existed for decades, there has never been a greater need for it than now. Implementation of data-backed policy decisions regarding the programme holds the power to change the country's educational landscape. Better late than never!
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Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Express Tribune
Reclaiming education
Listen to article Education is the biggest marker of upward mobility in a society. For a nation to grow intellectually, economically and socially, it is vital that its children are offered education without barriers. Unfortunately, the current climate of Pakistan's progress is severely handicapped by its 25.37 million out-of-school children — as revealed by a recent report titled 'Pakistan's Non-Formal Education Report 2023-24', launched in Islamabad last week. This crisis ranks Pakistan as the country with the world's second-highest number of out-of-school children, surpassed only by Nigeria. With around one third of children aged 5-16 out of school, Pakistan is facing an education emergency it cannot afford to ignore. In a post-Covid reality further marred by the recent floods, existing social inequalities driving these high numbers of out-of-school children have only been exacerbated. The number of children receiving an education in rural areas is alarmingly low, but even lower for girls who face compounded barriers due to gender and geography. The urgency of this situation has welcomed an alternative that provides children accessible and versatile learning opportunities. Non-Formal Education (NFE) is a structured and intentional form of education that focuses both on academic and skills-based training, without relying on a traditional mode of education that is often unapproachable for many. In an increasingly digital and postmodern world, the disruption of pre-existing structures can be exactly the lifeline that Pakistani children currently need. Through Accelerated Learning Programs (ALP), education and training would be able to cross regional barriers and reach out-of-school children to bring them back within the system. While NFE is already enshrined in the Pakistan's Constitution and has existed for decades, there has never been a greater need for it than now. Implementation of data-backed policy decisions regarding the programme holds the power to change the country's educational landscape. Better late than never!
Business Recorder
07-07-2025
- Business Recorder
Survivors grieve, worry about future after deadly building collapse in Pakistan
KARACHI: Survivors of a building collapse that killed 27 people in the Pakistani city of Karachi were trying on Monday to come to terms with the loss of loved ones and their homes. The five-storey building collapsed on Friday in the overcrowded inner-city Lyari district where many working-class and poor families live in ageing apartment blocks. The site is now a tangle of twisted metal, shattered concrete and scattered belongings, schoolbooks, shoes and sewing machines. On Monday, rescue officials said the death toll had reached 27 and dozens of people were being housed in makeshift shelters following the building's collapse and the evacuation of nearby buildings over structural fears. 'I grew up in that building. I knew everyone who lived there,' said Imdad Hussain, 28, a fisherman who lost neighbours, childhood friends and seven members of his extended family. He is now sheltering with relatives, and family members are in mourning as they try to figure out what the future holds. 'We've lost our home, our people. I don't know how we'll start again,' he said. Karachi Liyari building collapse: death toll rises to 27 Officials in Karachi, the capital of the southeastern province of Sindh, said the building had received multiple evacuation notices since 2023, including a final one in late June. Saeed Ghani, Provincial Minister of Sindh for Local Governments, said the Karachi commissioner - who oversees the city administration - had been tasked with inspecting 51 buildings identified as 'extremely dangerous' to prevent similar collapses. Building shook violently Residents said the building in Lyari, which has been home to generations of working-class families from minority and migrant backgrounds, shook violently on Friday before collapsing in a cloud of dust. Rescue workers had been digging through the debris since Friday but declared the search over late on Sunday. They said about 100 residents from 12 families had been living in the building, and nearly 50 more families had been displaced after three neighbouring buildings were declared unsafe and evacuated. Lakshmi, a school janitor who lived next door to the collapsed building, said her sister had lived in the building that came down and called moments before it fell to say it was shaking. Her sister survived, but Lakshmi feared losing the gold she had left with her for safekeeping before her daughter's wedding. 'We got out with our lives, but everything else is gone, with no certainty about what is to come,' Lakshmi said.
Express Tribune
04-07-2025
- Express Tribune
Climate change, women and water resilience
Listen to article In Pakistan's dry plains and productive deltas, climate change is no longer a hypothetical threat; it is a lived reality. That reality is best observed where land meets water, where women farmers in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan are reshaping resilience in the face of climate adversity. While water scarcity deepens and weather becomes increasingly volatile, these women are developing irrigation schemes, re-scheduling crop cycles, and, finally, determining the course of smallholder agriculture. Pakistan's agriculture sector, which consumes over 90% of its available freshwater, is suffering under enormous stress from dwindling rivers, declining groundwater, and erratic monsoons. Women, who account for approximately 45% of Pakistan's agricultural labor force, are disproportionately impacted by these stresses. Owning a mere 2% of agricultural land though, these women farmers are emerging quietly as unheralded leaders in the area of water management. Women have led raised-bed cultivation and drip irrigation in the Sindh's Badin and Thatta districts. Supported by the Sindh Water Sector Improvement Project and by local NGOs, these technologies have achieved up to 30% water savings over conventional flood irrigation, besides reducing soil salinity. In Multan and Bahawalpur districts of Southern Punjab, women farmers are restoring old water-harvesting systems, including karez and ponding. These techniques entail capturing rainwater in small reservoirs to draw on later, which allows them to stagger the times of their irrigation and cope with the capricious patterns of drought and intense rain triggered by climate change. Water shortage is also inducing a shift in the choice of crops and dates of planting. In Balochistan's desert areas like Nushki and Mastung, where the level of groundwater declined as much as 3 meters during the past decade, women are substituting water-guzzling crops like wheat and cotton with more drought-resistant crops like barley, millet and pulses. In Punjab, where Sutlej and Ravi rivers have grown more seasonal, women farmers are adapting by shifting to shorter crop cycles. They rotate early-maturing rice varieties such as Super Basmati with legumes and oilseeds. This only saves water, but also helps improve soil health, embodying the principles of regenerative agriculture. Perhaps most significant of all the ways in which women are redefining resilience is through the development of informal networks and community learning. Women farmer field schools are becoming central places for the exchange of tips on irrigation timing, organic pest control and seed saving in villages throughout Sindh and Balochistan. According to FAO, from 2018 to 2022, more than 17,000 Pakistani women were trained in climate-smart agriculture. This kind of training empowers women as it equips them with the skills required to track soil moisture, compost and settle water-sharing conflicts effectively. The national climate policies of Pakistan are finally acknowledging the critical role of women in enhancing water resilience. The draft of the 2021 National Adaptation Plan openly embraces gender-responsive approaches to water management. Provincial governments, in their turn, are launching initiatives such as the Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project, providing subsidies on water-saving technologies for small farmers, including women. But barriers like inadequate land titles, restricted credit access and under-representation in water users' associations continue to constrain women's scope and effectiveness. Empowering women leaders is not simply an issue of equity but efficiency. UN Women estimates that if women farmers in developing economies had equal access to resources, the agricultural yield could rise 20-30%, greatly reducing hunger. Along Pakistan's water-short borders, women farmers don't look like hapless victims of climate change, but innovative pioneers. From the salt-saturated fields of Sindh to the dry orchards of Balochistan, these remarkable women are discovering local solutions to a global issue. Their ingenuity highlights a vital truth: gender-sensitive climate adaptation is not only a good idea, but a necessity for ensuring the future of Pakistan's agriculture.
