TO bring prosperity and success in any country, education is the most important element and in that important element teachers consider back bone for the progress and development of a country and for its nation. According to Myra Pollack it is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge, it is their duty to train the new generation and guide them for future. The education system in Pakistan is divided into two different classes, lower and upper class. Government of Pakistan is facilitating the lower status schools, these schools exist in every province, district, sub district towns and villages.
Many of them are called Ghost schools due to the absences of students or due to the absence of trained teachers. The untrained teachers have no idea how to teach the students or how to build friendly relation with students. However, upper class schools are called private schools in Pakistan. These schools are run by private companies, and have very luxurious expenses and education system which is afforded by only elite class people. Every student has given full attention during their studies. The Private schools have complete facilities which are provided to individual students. In private school’s teachers are responsible to take care of each student and full attention to their teaching skills.
According to the Ministry of Education statistics, majority of the government schools lacked the basic infrastructure, i.e. 32.7 percent schools did not have a boundary wall, and 33.6 percent lacked drinking water facility. 35.4 percent had no latrines and around 60 percent schools were without electricity. Most of the students avoid to study in the local government schools of Pakistan due to the worse behavior and attitude of the teachers.
Violence in government schools of Pakistan is rapidly increasing day by day. Government school’s teachers have intolerance and they have much interest to teach students with punishments. The check and balance system is missing in the government schools of Pakistan while teachers are running schools according to their laws and rules. Teachers teaching methods are also affecting the learning process of the students and most of the teachers prefer corporal punishments which are serious violation of human rights. These corporal punishments are not only punishments but leading towards the death.
Corporal Punishment is derived from a Latin word meaning Body. It meant physical punishment and in the past it was considered very common. The punishment was first introduced in England and in 1987 it was banned. Pakistan inherited judicial caning from British India.
The methods of corporal punishments were criticized by various children’s rights activists who claimed that in many cases the corporal punishment have resulted in physical and mental abuse. According to the Human rights commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report, corporal punishment is a key reason in the schools that children dropouts. Every year 35.000 high school pupils in Pakistan are drop out of the schools because they have been punished or abused in schools. It is fact that 47 countries in the world have been banned corporal punishments in the school. Corporal punishments violate children’s human dignity and rights, and their negative impact destroys children’s development including their psychological, health, education and social status.
The government of Pakistan has taken some positive initiatives to end these punishments. The corporal punishments Bill 2016 against children was prepared for the teachers who would be consider guilty by applying the corporal punishment in schools. However, the bill was finally introduced by Senate of Pakistan and further recommended for the approval to standing committee. Although Pakistan is a Signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) but both these documents never enforced by the government of Pakistan. It is an urgent need for Pakistan to implement Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) in the country to protect and ensure the rights of children.
— The writer is a working lawyer, based in Islamabad.