In the quiet classrooms of Pakistani universities, thousands of Afghan students – many in the last stretch of their advanced degrees – are living with an unrelenting countdown. On 31 August 2025, Pakistan’s government has ordered that all Afghan nationals must leave the country or face arrest and deportation.
The initiative, spearheaded by Prime Minister and Minister of Education Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, aims to overhaul the country’s education system to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global landscape.
An overwhelming number of Sri Lankan households subsist on less than Rs. 1000 a day, or roughly Rs. 30,000 a month. These families are compelled to make impossible choices – often between food and education – leading many to defer or forgo early education for their children.
Since September 2023, nearly a million Afghans, 545,000 of them children, have returned, often with little more than a few belongings in hand and no clear idea of what lies ahead.
In the broader national context, the incident highlights a disconnect between India’s progressive rehabilitation laws and the ground realities of prison management. While Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, including access to education, the lack of institutional readiness often renders these rights hollow for prison inmates.
Many Afghan women and girls are battling severe mental health issues, with some taking their own lives, others disappearing into Taliban prisons, and those with the means fleeing the country.
The programme will train 400 underprivileged youths in apparel and textile industry skills, creating self-employment opportunities. Participants from various SECL operational areas can opt for either residential or non-residential training.
The report states that 54 million students in India alone were impacted, primarily due to severe heatwaves that led to widespread school closures and changes in academic schedules.
The centre has sounded an alarm over the likely impact of El Niño on India's 2026 southwest monsoon, warning that 315 districts across 12 states could face significant rainfall deficits during the crucial kharif cropping season.