Corporal punishment at schools | ELT programmes

'No room for corporal punishment at schools'
Islamabad, June 27: Plan International's global advocacy campaign titled "Learn without Fear" was launched on Friday with the objective to prevent all forms of violence against children in schools.

Federal Minister and Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme Farzana Raja inaugurated the campaign, which was attended by a large number of senior government officials, diplomats, representatives of national and international development organisations, civil society and media persons.

Roger Braden, Acting Country Director of Plan Pakistan delivered a welcome speech on the occasion.

Quoting from a study conducted by Plan Pakistan in Punjab, he said the practice of corporal punishment was at 89 per cent in the areas researched and contrary to popular belief, it is practised equally in both rural and urban settings.

Speaking on the occasion Chief Guest Federal Minister and Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme Farzana Raja said that she was pleased to see Plan Pakistan taking up an initiative to curb school-related violence.

"If we want to seriously address the issue of violence prevalent in our society, we have to ensure that our schools become places where our children learn about peace and tolerance," she said. She further stressed that violence should never be allowed and everyone had the right to live in non-violent ways.

"Our government is committed to improving the status of education for all in Pakistan and is working towards the goal of a healthy and prosperous nation", she added. While speaking at the occasion Ramrajya Joshi, the Programme Support Manager of Plan Pakistan made a presentation on Plan and its work in Pakistan.

She commented that the Plan had been working in Pakistan since 1997 and was currently sponsoring 25000 children in Pakistan.

"Plan covers the areas of health, education, livelihood, child and gender rights as well as disaster risk reduction", she added.

APP adds: The campaign aims at preventing all forms of violence against children in schools. This may include corporal punishment, sexual abuse, neglect, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, bullying, peer-to-peer violence, youth gangs, use of weapons and harassment on the journey to and from school and has been launched in 66 countries worldwide by Plan.

Natasha Kamal, Communications Manager talked about the global advocacy campaign of Plan and its focus in Pakistan being Corporal Punishment.

Talking about the campaign's vision, she said "Our vision is of a world where children can go to school in safety and expect a quality learning experience without fear or threats of Violence."

Natasha said that the campaign aimed at creating awareness among all stakeholders on the issue of violence against children with a focus on corporal punishment. The "Learn without Fear" Campaign song was also launched and the song has been sung by the famous singer Abbas Ali Khan and composed and arranged by Salman Albert, this song was done on voluntary basis by both the artists.

The launch mementoes were presented to singer Abbas Ali Khan and Salman Albert for their contribution and participation in the "Learn without Fear" Campaign. Plan is an international humanitarian, child focused development organisation without religious, political or government affiliations. The Nation

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US gives 600 ELT programmes to public schools
Islamabad: The US has provided 600 digital English Language Teaching (ELT) programmes for distribution in Pakistan's public schools during a ceremony hosted at the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU). According to a press release issued by the US Embassy, the digital programmes, on CD-ROM, are funded through a $41,000 grant to AIOU by the US Embassy. The one-year digital course is designed for students in grades 6 to 10 and will be used in approximately 1,600 public schools across Pakistan. The CD-ROMs along with teachers' instructional manuals will help both children and adults to increase their proficiency in the English language. Daily Times

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Urdu University exams from July 1
Islamabad: The controller of examination at Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology has announced a schedule for annual examinations of Bachelor of Arts, B.Com and MA. According to an announcement, the examinations for BA previous and final years will commence on July 1 and conclude on July 21. Similarly, B.Com (private) examinations will start on July 2 and end on July 20. The examinations for MA will be held from July 3 to July 14.

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IIU team to take part in Kazakhstan moot
Islamabad: A delegation of International Islamic University (IIU) will participate in the 8th session and third congress of the Secretariat of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions scheduled to be held in Kazakh capital Astana from June 29 to July 2. IIU President Dr. Anwar Hussain Siddiqui will lead the delegation, said a press release issued here on Friday. The other delegation members included Dr. Sahibzada Sajid-ur-Rehman, Director Dawah Academy, Professor Abdul Jabbar Shakir, Director of the Seerah Study Centre and Seerah Library, Islamic Research Institute (IRI), Dr.Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Faculty of Shariah and Law (FSL) and Dr. Zafarullah Baig, deputy dean Faculty of Islamic Studies (Usuluddin). The News

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