Bridging the digital divide
The expansion of Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure in Pakistan marks a strategic step toward digital inclusion, yet adoption rates remain uneven and low, especially in remote and rural districts.…
Student agency
GIVEN that most schools strive to grow by establishing a reputation of academic achievement, there are obvious gains from teaching students to crack exams and chase results. However, we have…
Stuck in the Stone Age
Pakistan’s governance system seems proper stuck in the first half of the 20th century. While much of the world has embraced devolved governance and digital public service delivery mechanisms, citizens…
Amusing ourselves to death
The late cultural critic Neil Postman, in his book ‘Amusing Ourselves to Death’ (1985), warned of a society losing its capacity for rational discourse, succumbing to a culture dominated by…
The greatest asset
IT’S not easy being a child in Pakistan. Just this past week, children across the country have endured the following: some caught polio; some were targeted in sectarian violence; millions…
Take school to the child
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…
Test of leadership
THE new government has assumed power in an environment marked by political turmoil, polarisation and controversy over the election. In his second stint as prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif heads a fragile six-party…
Talking to children about Gaza
HOW do we talk to our children about what’s happening in Gaza? It’s a quandary that most parents in Pakistan are confronting as the conflict continues, one month and approximately…
To read or not…
DO our children read books? In the absence of reliable statistics, one must turn to anecdotal evidence, which suggests that the book reading culture does not exist in Pakistan —…
Global skills
NOW that the lockdown is over, most schools have reverted to in-person teaching and are back in their brick-and-mortar comfort zones. While the human connection is undoubtedly essential for growth…
