LAHORE, Sept 17: The education department has asked parents and students to contact the EDO (education) or special secretary (schools) concerned to file a complaint against corporal punishment. A circular issued here on Saturday directed all the public and private (registered) schools to display on a notice board and schools gates the instruction regarding the ban on corporal punishment by Sept 28.

The registration of the private institutions would be cancelled in case they failed to comply with the order. Special teams, comprising the education department officials, would pay visits to both public and private schools on Sept 29 and 30 in this regard.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan is a signatory to the Convention of the Right of the Child of 1990, which prohibits corporal punishment at schools, homes and workplaces.

Under the sections 323 and 325 of the Pakistan Penal Code, any physical punishment to the children under 12 is also banned. Both laws propose fine and punishment for violators, but violation continues unabated especially in the public schools.

The section 89 of the PPC which permits parents, teachers and guardians to use corporal punishment as a means to discipline and correct children has also been largely misused.

It may be noted that children in Pakistan do not enjoy even the most basic rights as enshrined in the country’s Constitution and the UN Convention on the rights of the child.

It has been reported that the practice of corporal punishment is more common in rural areas and in boys’ schools.