Vigilance: Protecting students from the perils of sexual harassment

ISLAMABAD:

Educational institutes have been put under scrutiny, especially after two cases of sexual abuse surfaced at Quaid-i-Azam University.

The Capital Administration Development Division (CADD) has issued directives to the concerned authorities to ensure prevention of sexual abuse of students in both public and private educational institutions.

The directives, issued by the Human Commission for Child Welfare section of the CADD, instructed the concerned authorities to use all possible means to keep an eye on and forbid the elements involved in abusing students in their institutions.

The division directed that the elements, which have been involved in such cases, should not be allowed to re-enter into the educational institutions.

An official of CADD said the number of educational institutions in the city is rising. A number of problems could arise at a later stage if a proper mechanism to keep check over them is not standardised.

The official said that scores of cadet colleges are mushrooming in the city, without proper registration or obtaining NOC from the General Headquarters. These institutions not only charge high fees from the students but also provide substandard services.

Moreover, a number of cases of sexual abuse have been reported in them. One reason of the likelihood of such cases may be the boarding system within the institutions, where young kids are vulnerable to falling victim to sexual abuse.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2011.