ISLAMABAD: In the last three years the National Commission on Rights of the Child (NCRC) received 49pc of complaints from Punjab. It has taken notice of the torture on a schoolgirl in Lahore, condemning the incident as violating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan Penal Code and provincial laws and policies of Punjab.
NCRC Chairperson Afshan Tehseen said “the incident once again highlighted the fact that child protection system was failing to protect children in Punjab”.
nCRC sought an inquiry Report
The NCRC in a statement terms the regulation and monitoring of private school education in the province, the responsibility of the Punjab School Education Department (SED). The commission has directed the secretary to School Education Department to submit an inquiry report on the incident.
The department constituted a committee to examine matters related to private educational institutions, including legal framework, costs, teachers, issues, fees, child-security and safety.
The NCRC also directed the DC and the district education officer Lahore to share progress on status of provincial child protection policy and mechanism to prevent such incidents, including the formation of child protection committees in private schools and complaint handling mechanism.
Child Safety
Under the Punjab Free and Compulsory Education Act 2014, SED has to devise a mechanism in pubic and private schools to prevent such incidents and ensure protection of children from abuse, exploitation and torture.
Chairperson NCRC stated “We are monitoring the situation and have directed the secretary to the government of Punjab, School Education Department, deputy commissioner and the DPO Lahore to submit an inquiry report within seven days,”
Tehseen said the government of Punjab and SED should take effective measures to implement sections 18 (monitoring of right to education) and 19 (inspections and directions) of the Punjab Free and Compulsory Education Act 2014, to formulate a comprehensive child protection policy for public and private schools and operationalize child protection committees at the school level.
The victim’s account
According to the FIR quoted the victim’s father as saying that his daughter was a student of Scarsdale American International School located in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA). He alleged that one of the four girls involved in the attack was carrying a dagger.
He said one of the girls was a boxer who hit his daughter in her face while another kicked her, causing injuries to her face. Another girl tried to strangulate his daughter. He added that the video clip was sufficient evidence to initiate legal action against the attackers.
Following the attack, the victim’s father said his daughter was traumatized, adding that the video clip caused further mental torture to him and his family. He added that his daughter had also recorded a video of her class mates taking drugs in the school.
“Later, she showed me the clip that I shared with the father of that girl (prime suspect),” he said, adding the suspects had been nurturing a grudge against his daughter since then and planned an assault on her.
He alleged in the FIR that the attackers also snatched a gold chain and a locket from his daughter during the attack.
He said he also approached the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for action against those who uploaded the video clip of the assault on his daughter on social media.
