Taking a stand: MPAs to join caucus to protect child rights

A caucus run by the provincial chief commissioner for children will deliberate on ways to make policies more effective

LAHORE: A caucus comprising members of the Provincial Assembly would be set up to ensure effective protection of the rights of children in the province. It would be run by the provincial chief commissioner for children from the ombudsman’s office.

This was announced at a meeting of public and private stakeholders chaired by Nasreen Farooq Ayub, provincial chief commissioner for children, on Monday. Punjab Education Foundation Chairman Qamarul Islam Raja was present at the meeting. Ayub discussed with the participants the proposed role of the parliamentarians’ caucus to provide a conducive atmosphere for children.

She said the caucus would evaluate various laws related to the protection of the rights of children. It would work as a policy platform to guide and strengthen the government’s efforts and the efforts of various stakeholders to ensure that the relevant laws were implemented in letter and spirit. Members of this caucus would also maintain liaison with line-departments to help them adopt a holistic approach while framing policies.

The PEF chairman discussed the rights of children in the context of providing them a school education. “We know that education strengthens children in every way – it equips them with knowledge and inculcates a sense of achievement in them.”

He said society would have to ensure that no child was left behind. “We should be able to rely on the media, religious guides and community leaders, educationists and other stakeholders to take up the mantle of sensitising the society regarding the need to create an atmosphere where children flourish and grow intellectually and socially.”

Raja said the children would grow up to be the leaders of tomorrow. “This places a huge responsibility on us to ensure that we nurture them to be future leaders.” He said providing children in the Punjab equal access to quality education was one way of making this happen.

He spoke about the various achievements of the Education Foundation in providing free schooling to almost 2.1 million children in the province. “Providing children access to quality education has also helped us put an end to child labour.”

Raja urged the civil society to support the government in helping it achieve a target of 100 per cent enrolment of children in schools by 2018. In this regard, the second phase of education sector reforms programme will focus on improving the overall quality of education, he said.

“The government has prioritised protection of the rights of children by promoting education.”

Several lawmakers and officers presented suggestions about the proposed role of the parliamentarians’ caucus.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2016.