Ghani seeks end to corporal punishment in school

KABUL (Pajhwok): President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Thursday urged schoolteachers to put an end to corporal punishment.

Declaring the new educational year open, President Ghani said a lot had to be done to enhance the quality of education.

“In terms of quality, there are still a many problems and a lot of work needs to be done,” he said, stressing teachers’ role in shaping students’ future and performance.

Ghani directed the Ministry of Education to identify top100 teachers and task them with recording school lessons for all students.

He asked teachers to replace the culture of punishment at schools with that of compassion. “Sticks and punishment should not have any place at our schools. Sticks are not a sign of strength.”

If children were humiliated at school age, he warned, the cycle would continue into several generations. He urged the media to play an active part in educating children on their national language and Islamic culture.

He said apart from focusing on empowering teachers financially, it was also necessary to help students with poor economic backgrounds.

According to Ghani, around 1.3 million children still do not have access to school. But he hoped the children would get enrolled in the next three years.

Mohammad Shafiq Samim, acting education minister, said in the new solar year around 13,000 new teachers would join schools. Last year, around 11.5 million students were enrolled at 17,000 schools across the country.

hg/mud

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