RAHIM YAR KHAN: Some video clips surfacing on social media showing students of a government school in the district, who were allegedly made to do hard physical tasks, like transporting bricks and cleaning classroom, have caused concern among the parents and the civil society.

These video clips was allegedly recorded at the Government Boys High School at Chak 72-NP on Shahbazpur Road, where young students were engaged in cleaning activities and manually transporting bricks on the school premises.

Locals complain that besides these hard physical tasks, the students are also assigned security duties at the school’s gate, allegedly by the headmaster concerned.

Educationists and civil society activists emphasise that while schools may teach students the value of cleanliness and responsible conduct, assigning them hard physical work or security duties is inappropriate and violates child welfare principles.

They stressed that educational institutions must ensure a safe and supportive learning environment focused on academic and personal development.

Community members have called for a thorough inquiry into the matter to establish the facts and, if necessary, strict action against those found responsible for this.

The incident has also drew criticism from political and social activists, who questioned Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s government’s slogan of “Parho Punjab”, saying such practices could undermine the public confidence in the government schools and contradict the spirit of initiatives aimed at promoting education across the province.

District Education Authority (DEA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Malik Aamir did not take calls made to his mobile phone by this correspondent.

However, District Education Officer (DEO) Waseem Mehboob told Dawn that he would constitute a committee to dig out the facts and submit a report to the CEO for further action.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2026