The order by the district coordination officer (DCO) for mandatory vaccination cards as a requirement for admission in schools is proving to be another obstacle for poor students in gaining access to education.
In a press statement, Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) said, “The order passed by DCO is an absolute contradiction of Article 25- A of Constitution of Pakistan which gives right to education to all children of age five to 16 years. It is evident that education in Pakistan remains in a state of crisis. Already a large number of children of school going age, between 35-40%, remain out of school.” PRESS RELEASE
Furthermore, SPARC questioned the effectiveness of the immunisation programs by the Punjab government as the death toll in the province rose to 13.
The statement said, “According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report the measles outbreak was on rise since mid-2012.According to the report, Punjab has the second highest number of measles outbreak where 33 cases were reported in first three weeks of January 2013.The overall situation regarding the health sector in Pakistan still causes a great concern to all. Over the years the Expanded Immunization Program (EPI) continued to perform low and there has been increasingly low vaccination coverage in the past few years. Vaccine preventable diseases are still a major cause for the high infant and child mortality rates in Pakistan.”
SPARC said that the provincial government was under an obligation to reveal why the immunisation program had failed to save lives.
Furthermore, SPARC demanded that the government should review its immunisation program instead of violating rights to education of children.
