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‘Pakistan has most out-of-school children in the world’

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ISLAMABAD: Minister of Federal Education and Professional Training Rana Tanveer Hussain said Friday that Pakistan has the “most out-of-school children (OOSC)” globally.

In response to a question in the National Assembly about children not going to school in Pakistan, the education minister said that 23 million children in Pakistan do receive school education.

The minister informed the house that the government had set an ambitious target to bring all 70,000 out-of-school children in the Islamabad Capital Territory to zero by June 30.

The minister said currently, around 70,000 children were out of school in Islamabad and all-out efforts were being made to enrol them in schools by June 30.

Tanveer said the government had also launched the Schools on Wheels initiative in Islamabad to provide education to the children of rural areas. For this purpose, buses were converted into mobile schools having state-of-the-art facilities, including toilets.

He said on the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the ministry was also planning to provide such mobile buses facility to the children of flood-affected areas of Balochistan and Sindh.

Even the World Bank (WB) had also appreciated the government’s initiative, besides assuring the provision of 30 buses for the noble cause, he added.

He said the WB also intended to introduce such a system in Africa. The ministry was ready to assist other provinces if the provincial governments provided buses, he said.

He said the government had also started the tele school system, besides focusing on distance learning. It had also undertaken an accelerated learning programme with the cooperation of the United Kingdom to enhance the literacy rate in the country, he added.

To another question, he said 0.8% was recorded in the literacy rate in the last nine months.

In its data, UNICEF said that an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 are not attending school, representing 44% of the total population in this age group.

In the 5-9 age group, five million children are not enrolled in schools and after primary-school age, the number of OOSC doubles, with 11.4 million adolescents between the ages of 10-14 not receiving formal education.

Disparities based on gender, socio-economic status, and geography are significant; in Sindh, 52% of the poorest children (58% girls) are out of school, and in Balochistan, 78% of girls are out of school.

Nearly 10.7 million boys and 8.6 million girls are enrolled at the primary level and this drops to 3.6 million boys and 2.8 million girls at the lower secondary level.

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FO admits that a boat capsized in Greece, killing four Pakistanis.

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The deaths of four Pakistanis in a boat capsizing event close to the southern Greek island of Goudos have been verified by the Foreign Office.

The incident happened on Sunday and at least five illegal immigrants drowned as a result. According to Greek Coast Guards, 39 people were rescued after the wooden boat overturned, but 40 more are still unaccounted for.

According to a Foreign Office spokeswoman, the four Pakistani nationals were among those killed in the catastrophe. In order to help the remaining Pakistanis and repatriate the corpses of the deceased, the Pakistani Embassy in Athens has been in close communication with Greek authorities, she said.

Additional information was given by Aamir Aftab Qureshi, Pakistan’s ambassador to Greece, during a press conference. According to him, there were 80 Pakistanis on board the doomed boat, and efforts are still being made to find the people who are still missing.

He added that the overcrowding on the boat was a factor in the capsizing. There are worries over the safety of the missing people because a sizable portion of them are children. He stated that five boats carrying Pakistani nationals were traveling illegally from Libya.

The public was also informed by Ambassador Qureshi that the government will pay for the return flight of the accident victims’ bodies.

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Every office will have a biometric system installed by Lesco.

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system in each office.

Details show that the LESCO had ordered the installation of biometric systems in all offices, including the divisions and the circle.

The installation of the biometric system at the headquarters resulted in an increase in attendance, as the LESCO CEO had stated.

The CEO of LESCO claimed that the biometric system has resolved the issues related to the fictitious overtime and off-days.

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Around 450 Pakistanis have successfully crossed into Lebanon from Syria, according to a briefing from the Foreign Office.

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Approximately 450 Pakistanis, including 250 Zaireen, have successfully crossed into Lebanon from Syria, according to the spokesperson for the Foreign Office, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch.

During her weekly briefing at the foreign office in Islamabad, she stated that Pakistan is pleased with the resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly on the Gaza Strip, which calls for an immediate ceasefire.

In addition, she expressed her satisfaction with the elimination of limits placed on UNRWA’s ability to carry out relief activities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

It was stated by her that Pakistan is demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities in Palestine, an end to the genocide that is taking place in Gaza, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, unrestricted access to humanitarian aid for those who are in urgent need, full support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and its mandated humanitarian activities, and medical assistance for those who are in urgent need.

Moreover, she stated that Pakistan emphasises the need for the international community to hold Israel accountable for the war crimes and crimes against humanity that it has committed in occupied lands.

The Israeli aggression against Syria, the illegitimate acquisition of Syrian territory, and the massive devastation of Syrian infrastructure as well as civilian and military sites are all topics that Pakistan is extremely worried about, according to the spokesperson for Pakistan.

According to her, this attack on Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is a serious violation of international law to the highest degree. By expressing our support for Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we are also expressing our opposition to the Israeli government’s attempt to acquire territory through coercion.

The resolution 497 of the United Nations Security Council, which declares the annexation of the Golan Heights by Israel to be null and illegal and to have no international legal impact, was reaffirmed by her organisation.

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