CSS Sociology Social Problems of Pakistan Syllabus

What does TVET stand for?

Technical and Vocational Education and Training.

Which national body governs TVET in Pakistan?

NAVTTC — the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission.

State one key consequence of the lack of technical and vocational training in Pakistan.

A skills mismatch producing 'educated unemployment' — degree-holders without marketable skills — and low industrial productivity.

Define deviance in sociology.

Behavior that violates the significant social norms, rules, or expectations of a society or group.

Distinguish formal from informal deviance.

Formal deviance violates codified laws (crime); informal deviance violates unwritten social norms (e.g., manners, customs) without legal sanction.

What is the difference between deviance and crime?

All crime is deviance, but not all deviance is crime — crime breaks codified law, whereas deviance also includes norm violations not punishable by law.

State Merton's Strain Theory of deviance.

Deviance arises when society's culturally approved goals (e.g., wealth) cannot be reached through legitimate means, creating strain that pushes people toward deviant adaptations.

List Merton's five modes of adaptation to strain.

Conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion.

What is Labelling Theory of deviance?

The view that deviance is not inherent in an act but results from society labelling a person 'deviant,' which can produce a self-fulfilling deviant identity (Becker).

What is Sutherland's Differential Association theory?

The theory that deviant/criminal behavior is learned through interaction with others, especially in intimate groups, who transmit favorable attitudes toward law-breaking.

Define street crime.

Crimes committed in public places, typically involving direct contact with victims — e.g., mugging, snatching, robbery, pickpocketing, and assault.

Name three common forms of street crime in Pakistani cities.

Mobile phone and purse snatching, armed robbery/mugging, and vehicle (car/motorcycle) theft.

Give two major social causes of street crime in Pakistan.

Unemployment/poverty and rapid unplanned urbanization, alongside weak policing and easy access to weapons.

Define smuggling.

The illegal movement of goods, currency, or people across borders to evade customs duties, taxes, or legal prohibitions.

Distinguish smuggling from human trafficking.

Smuggling involves consensual illegal transport of goods or persons across borders; trafficking involves coercion/exploitation of persons regardless of border crossing.

Name three commonly smuggled commodities affecting Pakistan's economy.

Petroleum/diesel, currency (dollars), and goods such as cloth, tyres, and electronics; also wheat, sugar, and narcotics.

What is the Afghan Transit Trade and its link to smuggling?

An agreement allowing duty-free transit of goods to landlocked Afghanistan via Pakistan; misused when goods are smuggled back into Pakistan, evading duties.

State one major economic harm of smuggling to Pakistan.

Massive loss of customs/tax revenue and damage to local industry from cheaper untaxed goods.

Define drug addiction.

A chronic, compulsive dependence on a psychoactive substance despite harmful consequences, marked by tolerance, craving, and withdrawal symptoms.

Distinguish physical from psychological drug dependence.

Physical dependence produces bodily withdrawal symptoms when the drug is stopped; psychological dependence is an emotional/mental craving and reliance on the drug.

What are 'tolerance' and 'withdrawal' in addiction?

Tolerance is needing increasing doses to achieve the same effect; withdrawal is the set of adverse physical/psychological symptoms when use is reduced or stopped.

Approximately how many drug users does Pakistan have, per UNODC estimates?

Around 6.7 million drug users, with cannabis and heroin/opioids among the most commonly abused substances.

Why is Pakistan's geography linked to its drug problem?

It borders the 'Golden Crescent' (Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan), a major opium/heroin-producing region, making it a key transit and consumption zone.

Define unemployment.

The condition of people who are of working age, able and willing to work, and actively seeking work but unable to find a job.

Define the unemployment rate and its formula.

The percentage of the labour force that is unemployed: (number unemployed / total labour force) x 100.

Differentiate disguised unemployment from structural unemployment.

Disguised unemployment: more workers engaged than needed (common in agriculture) so marginal productivity is near zero; structural unemployment: joblessness from a mismatch between workers' skills and available jobs.

What is cyclical (Keynesian) unemployment?

Unemployment caused by downturns in the business cycle when aggregate demand falls, reducing the demand for labour.

What is frictional unemployment?

Short-term unemployment that occurs while workers are between jobs or searching for their first job; considered normal in any economy.

Define poverty and distinguish absolute from relative poverty.

Poverty is the inability to meet basic needs. Absolute poverty: income below a fixed minimum needed for survival; relative poverty: falling significantly below the average living standard of one's society.

What is the international extreme-poverty line set by the World Bank?

Living on less than about USD 2.15 per day (2017 PPP), the threshold for extreme poverty.

What is the 'poverty line' and how is the poverty headcount ratio defined?

The poverty line is the minimum income/consumption needed for basic needs; the headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below that line.

What is the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and its three dimensions?

A measure of poverty beyond income using deprivations in three dimensions: health, education, and standard of living.

What is the 'vicious cycle of poverty'?

A self-reinforcing loop where low income causes low saving and investment, leading to low productivity and continued low income, trapping people in poverty (Nurkse).

What is the Gini coefficient?

A measure of income inequality ranging from 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (perfect inequality), derived from the Lorenz curve.

Define literacy as used in Pakistan's census.

The ability to read and write, with understanding, a simple text and to perform basic arithmetic; in Pakistan, the ability of a person aged 10+ to read and write.

What is Pakistan's approximate literacy rate and the gender gap?

Roughly 60% overall, with male literacy markedly higher than female literacy (a gap of around 15-20 percentage points).

Define the school dropout rate.

The percentage of students who leave school before completing a given level of education without transferring to another school.

How many out-of-school children does Pakistan have, and what is its global significance?

Around 22-26 million out-of-school children, the second-highest number in the world.

What constitutional article makes education a right in Pakistan?

Article 25-A, guaranteeing free and compulsory education to all children aged 5 to 16.

Give two main causes of school dropout in Pakistan.

Poverty (children pushed into work) and direct/indirect costs, plus lack of nearby schools, poor quality, and early marriage of girls.

Define child labour as per ILO.

Work that deprives children of their childhood, potential, and dignity, and is harmful to their physical and mental development; work below the minimum legal age or that is hazardous.

What is the ILO minimum age for employment under Convention No. 138?

Generally 15 years (14 in some developing countries), and 18 for hazardous work, with 13 permitted for light work.

Distinguish child labour from child abuse.

Child labour is economically harmful or age-inappropriate work; child abuse is physical, sexual, emotional harm or neglect inflicted on a child.

Name the four recognized types of child abuse.

Physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, and neglect.

What is ILO Convention No. 182 about?

The elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including slavery, trafficking, prostitution, illicit activities, and hazardous work.

Define bonded labour.

A form of forced labour where a person works to repay a debt (often inherited), with terms so exploitative that the debt can never be cleared — a modern form of slavery.

Which Pakistani law abolished bonded labour and in what year?

The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1992, which outlawed the system and cancelled outstanding bonded debts.

What is 'peshgi' in the context of bonded labour?

An advance payment or loan given to a worker by an employer that binds the worker (and often family) into bonded labour until it is repaid.

Name two sectors in Pakistan where bonded labour is most common.

Brick kilns and agriculture (e.g., sharecropping/haris), as well as carpet weaving and domestic work.

Which landmark Supreme Court case addressed bonded labour in Pakistan?

Darshan Masih (Bhatti) v. The State (1990), in which the Supreme Court took up bonded brick-kiln workers' plight and directed their release.

Compare absolute poverty and unemployment as social problems.

Poverty is about inability to meet basic needs (a lack of income/resources); unemployment is the lack of paid work. Unemployment is a major cause of poverty, but poverty can also exist among the employed ('working poor').

What is the difference between 'manifest' and 'latent' functions, useful in analyzing social problems?

Manifest functions are intended, recognized consequences of a social structure; latent functions are unintended, hidden consequences (Merton).

What sociological approach views social problems as arising from conflict over scarce resources between groups?

The Conflict Perspective (Marxist), which sees problems like poverty and crime as products of inequality and class exploitation.