This is with the reference to news published in newspapers dated 20th September, 2014, regarding a brutal incident of corporal punishment on a grade 9 student by her teacher which resulted in broken fingers.
Pakistan signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children (UNCRC) on 12 November, 1990 and Article 4 of this article urges that “States shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognised in the present Convention. After 18th Constitutional Amendment it is responsibility of provincial government to ensure the legislation for protection of children.
Although the government of the Punjab issues an administrative notification under which corporal punishment was declared banned in all schools but this notification has not any legal bindings due to which implementation of this notification always remain a question. The notification also did not describe that what would be the mechanisms by education department to monitor the situation of corporal punishment as well as redressal mechanism to response such kind of incidents. There was always a gap of scheduling capacity building programs for pre service and in service teachers to equip them with skills and knowledge on dealing with issues of children in a friendly way by using the alternative methodologies to corporal punishment.
Provincial Assembly of Sindh has passed a resolution against corporal punishment both in government and private schools in 2013. There is dire need that Punjab Provincial Assembly should come forward and introduce “Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Act” in Punjab and declare the corporal punishment as a form of violence against children. This is pertinent to mention here that the Committee on the Rights of Children in its concluding observation and recommendation against 3rd and 4th periodic report of UNCRC also directed government of Pakistan to repeal the section 89 of Pakistan Penal Code and also launch a comprehensive awareness campaign on harms of Corporal Punishment on Child Development.
A bill namely “Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Act 2013” was tabled in National Assembly during PPPP by Dr. Atiya Inayatullah which was unanimously approved by the house but it could not send to Senate for further discussion and approval from upper house due to some technical reasons, so it became lapsed.
The election manifesto 2013 of ruling PML-N clearly indicates that the PML-N government will take all legislative measures to ensure the protection of Women and Children from different forms of violence, so it is requested that the government of Pakistan should see the issue of corporal punishment as a sensitive case as it is also a major reason for dropping out of children from schools, so it is also creating an hurdle for children in enjoying with right to education.
IFTIKHAR MUBARIK
Lahore
