KARACHI: One in four children aged three to eight years in Karachi’s public schools are at risk of social, emotional, physical, language and cognition development delays, a study conducted by the Aga Khan University (AKU) said on Wednesday.
AKU said it conducted the research among children studying in grades one and two at Karachi’s public schools. The children were measured in each of the five developmental domains — social and emotional, physical, language, cognition and communication skills.
“It was found that 28% of children were vulnerable in at least one of these domains, while about 10% struggled in all five,” AKU said in press release.
The study found that Pashtun children “exhibited the highest vulnerability” in all domains compared to Urdu speaking, Sindhi, Punjabi and Baloch children.
“Boys were also found to be significantly more likely to be vulnerable than girls,” the press release said.
