Pakistan’s education system has been deteriorating since last few decades, however, it is the performance of the past five years that has seen a rapid decline in terms of the social and moral standing and prospects of our students. What future are we possibly giving to them?
Are we even giving them any?
Baaghi TV has compiled some of the warning signs missed in the last few years eventually leading to the sexual harassment scandal pertaining to the elitist, Lahore Grammar School (LGS), where students have taken to social media to highlight the ongoing inappropriate behavior of the male teachers as well as other staff.
LGS Sexual Harassment Scandal:
According to a report by Baaghi TV, a few students of LGS have taken a brave and much-needed step, and come forward with the allegations of sexual harassment, which they had experienced through the actions of their male teachers and staff.
Many of these girls who came forward, study at LGS 1-A/1, and called out the so called teachers, whom they have been harassed by in classes, in the auditorium, in the canteen, et cetera. One case came forward, in which the victim asked the administration of the school to take some action against her teacher, Sir Warraich who had harassed her but was ultimately shut down by Miss Maira Rana (wife of actor Omair Rana who has also been accused as a perpetrator by the students) and Mrs. Shakil, the principal, in order to protect their school’s reputation.
As per latest reports of Baaghi TV, both the ladies have been removed from their position. Moreover, as reported earlier by Baaghi TV, the testimony of former LGS Head Girl of the 1-A/1 (Gulberg branch), described the disturbing ordeal in great detail:
[bs-quote quote=”I was Head Girl at LGS 1A1 from 2018-2019, and consequently spent more hours working closely with the administration than anyone could ever imagine. In light of students and alumni opening up about their experiences with harassment and abuse, I wanted to share my experience. Please read through till the end and help us get these people fired.” style=”style-8″ align=”center” color=”#dd0000″ author_name=”Former Head Girl ” author_job=”LGS, 1-A/1″][/bs-quote]
She went on to say, “It’s no secret that there were faculty and staff at 1A1 that made us feel uncomfortable. Mr. Umar, at the accounts office, was notorious.”
Following the scandal going viral, parents and students alike have spoken up against the issue. According to reports, they demand that proper legal action be taken against the perpetrators and the school administration who have failed to provide basic security to the students.
Mrs. Ammara Farooq Malik, concerned parent and founding member of AFMalik Law, has decided to initiate ‘legal action in the court of law to protect our young students and help change our system’. According to reports of Baaghi TV, Mrs. Malik hopes to file the petition in the Lahore High Court to ensure that the students be protected against such perpetrators.
According to reports of Baaghi TV, in light of the recently highlighted allegations that were brought to the attention of Mrs. Nighat Ali, Director Lahore Grammar School, the services of four accused employees have been terminated with immediate effect.
https://www.facebook.com/1354146429/posts/10223532126235313/?sfnsn=scwspmo&extid=GgAuaGQ93HZ40zNm
For more information on the LGS Scandal:
(The links have been placed in chronological order)
LGS teachers exposed for sexually harassing female students
Baaghi TV exposes the LGS faculty for their criminal activity
LGS Sexual Harassment: Former Head Girl comes forward with testimony
LGS Sexual Harassment: Investigative Committee to be formed
LGS Sexual Harassment: Female teachers acted as ‘Enablers’
LGS Sexual Harassment: Students accuse Pakistani actor Omair Rana
LGS Sexual Harassment: Maira Omair and Principal suspended
Baaghi TV has attempted to contact Omair Rana for his statement regarding the allegations placed on him but there has been no positive response so far from the actor.
Expulsion of Students for Out-of-School Activities:
According to reports of Baaghi TV, the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (also known as FAST NUCES) Lahore, has recently expelled multiple students accused of making memes that targeted the administration. The decision came forward on Sunday, June 28th, in a campus-wide Campus Disciplinary Committee (CDC) email.
Earlier this month, students had been engaged in inter-university meme wars with other universities and some had made memes on the university’s administration and policies. Among the 14 students and 12 alumni punished, some were in their final year, while students who are already graduates have been told that their degrees would be revoked – all career destroying punishments.
It was reported, that the university management seems to be scapegoating their failure to reprimand the real culprits by making examples out of students who didn’t have any involvement with it. Furthermore, this isn’t the first case of the administration overstepping its bounds, there being limits on clothing, inappropriate comments made to female students and faculty, fines for mixed sports like badminton and more.
The incident has managed to raise many questions including: Can a university monitor behavior of its students off-campus as well? Does a university have the right to monitor private social media profiles of its students? Can a university revoke a degree of its students for non-academic reasons?
For more information on this:
Expulsion of Students over Memes – New Low at FAST
One thing is for certain – the law should never be retrospective, and any punishments or CDC judgement must follow a predefined protocol, rather than being on-the-spur decisions.
Drug Culture in Educational Institutes:
Although this may seem like a woe of the past, it is a very real threat to the sanctity of our academic progress as well as the future of our youth. As reported by Baaghi TV on the 1st of July, 2019, drug abuse was increasing in educational institutions of the twin-cities, Rawalpindi and Islamabad, owing to the negligence and carelessness of the federal police and ministry of education.
According to Baaghi TV’s sources, it was reported that students, whether they be from schools, colleges and/or universities, were getting addicted to substances at an alarming rate, threatening not only their own future, but also of people around them, including family and friends.
At the time it was reported that the former interior minister had disclosed 80% male and female students use drugs while, based on the expertise of the doctors youth of 18 to 30 years frequently used ice-drugs.
For more on the Drug Culture across Pakistan:
(The links have been placed in chronological order)
Drug abuse increasing in educational institutions
Govt plans drug tests of students, teachers, staff
To overcome the social evil, Minister for Narcotics Control of the time, Shehryar Khan Afridi, had said that the government would conduct drug tests of students to ensure a drug free Pakistan under the vision of Prime Minister, Imran Khan.
Mental Health Issues:
Pakistan has always remained in the highlight for its issues such as economic crisis, poverty and dengue/polio eradication and there have been various discussions on how to combat these. However, the repercussions of these matters, that is academic stress and the ensuing mental health issues, rarely find any mention in the discussion and news.
What is this need to excel in education at all costs? Be it at the expense of the students’ mental and/or physical health.
According to Stephen Bevan, of the Institute for Employment Studies, people with anxiety may have a tougher time at their job. Although Bevan’s argument is focused on work environment issues, what he says may also hold true for academic standing.
[bs-quote quote=”If health problems are ignored, then it can turn into a more serious and longer-term issue, most of the times, there are situations where people will be overlooking serious underlying health problems.” style=”style-8″ align=”center” color=”#dd0000″ author_name=”Stephen Bevan ” author_job=”Institute for Employment Studies”][/bs-quote]
Thereby, if we stop pushing students to excel at all academic fronts perhaps we will have healthier and more actively engaging students. There have been more cases reported of students committing suicide after failing to get top positions, or friends killing over-achieving students over issue of grades in the last five years than before.
These are a select few examples of the flaws in Pakistan’s education system. Baaghi TV urges the Education Minister, CM Punjab, Prime Minister, Imran Khan and other relevant bodies to take immediate action to improve the degrading system in Pakistan if we hope to have a productive future.
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