November 20, 2002	Wednesday	Ramazan 14, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 19: The society for protection of rights of the child (SPARC) has called upon the federal and the provincial governments to abolish all forms of violence against children going on in families, detention centres, schools and workplaces.

In a statement issued here to commemorate the international Children’s Day being observed on Wednesday, the national coordinator of SPARC said: “Children also are the holders of human rights and it is criminal for an adult to physically hit a child.”

The theme that the SPARC has chosen to highlight this year’s Universal Children Day is “Corporal Punishment” in homes and in schools. It has vociferously expressed its concern over the ease with which children are physically and emotionally punished.

Contrary to the social and cultural norms, the SPARC believes that children can be disciplined without punishing them physically and emotionally, and if they are given adequate amount of care and attention, they become more disciplined and patient.

Moreover, the dropout rate of the children at primary level is 50% and corporal punishment has been identified as a major factor coupled with other socio-economic reasons for driving out children from schools.

There are severe mental and psychological repercussions when the children are subjected to corporal punishment. “We have drawn the attention of the provincial governments to immediately notify the Ministry of Education and all educational departments to ban all forms of corporal punishment in schools and to penalise those who violate the ban,” said Sarwar Rafiq Shah, coordinator of the SPARC’s campaign against corporal punishment.

“There must be strict inspection to ensure proper implementation of the ban to end the woes of the students, who are victims of corporal punishment.” SPARC has also called on the government to repeal Section 89 of the PPC (Pakistan Penal Code), which allows physical punishment in schools.