PESHAWAR: A large number of children leave school because of corporal punishment and this is the main reason for a high school dropout rate, said Anees Jillani, national coordinator for the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), while addressing a one-day consultative workshop on “The Negative Impact of Corporal Punishment in Schools” with the collaboration of the Child Rights Committee (CRC) Chitral on Thursday.“Corporal punishment in schools and at home is very common in Pakistan and it is a form of violence which should be banned,” said Mr Jillani. He said that the practice of corporal punishment was a threat to a child’s right to development as defined by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Pakistan is a signatory but has also ratified it and under Article 28 of the UNCRC, education is the basic right of every child.
Inayatullah Aseer, joint coordinator of the CRC, said that the CRC was active in the district and was not only promoting child rights and focusing on juvenile justice but was also organising campaigns on the importance of education.
More than 40 teachers, lecturers and school principals representing government schools and students took part in the workshop. Teachers pointed out that they were unaware of any kind of notification that bans corporal punishment neither any circular had been forwarded to the schools.
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