KARACHI: The Sindh College Education Department (CED) has prohibited “unauthorised” pictures taken without consent in girls’ government colleges across the province, it emerged on Tuesday.

According to a letter by Karachi Directorate of College Education (DCE) — dated February 9 and seen by Dawn — the Sindh CED special secretary has taken “serious notice of incidents involving unauthorised photography and dissemination of images of female teachers and female students on social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and other digital media”.

The Karachi DCE letter quoted an advisory note by the CED special secretary, dated February 2, to strictly prohibit such activities.

The note stated that such incidents had “reportedly occurred in certain female colleges”.

“Such acts constitute a clear violation of applicable laws and the religious and social values of society,” the special secretary was quoted as saying.

“Therefore, unauthorised photography in all female colleges without consent is strictly prohibited and shall result in disciplinary as well as legal action under the relevant laws and regulations,” it declared.

The letter by the Karachi CED ordered all government college principals to ensure compliance with these rules. Otherwise, it warned, any violation would result in disciplinary proceedings and the “principal and staff of the violating” college would be held responsible.