Education for all

Late at night at the Khamarbari intersection, groups of nearly 40 displaced individuals –including many children – huddle around small fires made from burning scraps of wood and paper. The flickering flames offer fleeting warmth against the biting chill, but the bare pavement beneath them provides no cushion or protection. Children in thin, filthy sweaters shiver as they chat or try to sleep, their bodies pressed together for shared heat.

Nepal’s battle against child labour remains a complex struggle of law, tradition, and socioeconomic fragility, even as pockets of progress emerge.

The new campaign criticises the international community’s shift toward what the group calls “silence and normalization.” Despite widespread initial outrage, some countries have engaged with the Taliban on pragmatic grounds.

Many experts emphasise the need for conditional cash transfer programmes, improved rural schooling, transportation support for students, and vocational training initiatives to ensure that families are not forced to choose between survival and education.

The rising child labour rate signals a regression: children are being diverted from education into work, simply because of economic precarity.

Rahul Gandhi, despite his charisma, is still searching for a way to convert his message into a sustained political movement.

The latest nationwide survey reveals a seismic shift in the age profile of Sri Lanka, with the share of children shrinking and the elderly proportion growing – signalling a departure from decades of youthful-growth to one of rapid ageing and dependency pressures.

According to the report, the gap in learning outcomes between wealthier and poorer students is widening – even as the nation slips in its global standings.