ISLAMABAD: To abolish and completely eradicate corporal punishment in educational institutions, a meeting was convened on Thursday by inviting relevant stakeholders at the Pakistan Manpower Institute Building.

Secretary Ministry of Education Mohyuddin Wani, who chaired the meeting, explained that it was prime responsibility of stakeholders to ensure protection of children rights in educational settings and that included absolute ending of corporal punishment.

The deliberations of meeting included strategising effective execution of Corporal Punishment Act and ensuring that every child is protected and heard. The actions in this regard will include immediate awareness raising campaigns, a baseline survey for auditing the extant and frequency of corporal punishment, workshops for students, teachers, parents and community, display of a sealed compliant box in all educational institutions, notification of disciplinary committees in each school and an exclusive director in each directorate; and setting up of a Hot-line for students and parents to report any such incident confidentially.

The participants of meeting proclaimed to ensure complete implementation of corporal punishment Act.

In another development Mohyuddin Wani informed delegations of Pakistan Ex-servicemen Society (PESS) and Private Schools and Colleges Management Association (PSCMA) of Pakistan that standards of Government Schools werebeing organised on most modern lines, in line with foreign countries, like Japan and the West.

“It is therefore, imperative that Government and Private Schools and Colleges must replicate the Federal Education System Model in all Provinces and AJK as soon as possible. These improvements will greatly boost up Pakistan in all spheres of development in next five to ten years,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2024