KARACHI - The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) on Sunday stressed to eliminate corporal punishment in schools and presented a proposal to education department of Sindh to take some joint measures to end this menace against children. National Manager, Programme of Violence against Children Project of SPARC, Sadia Baloch, handed over the proposals to the Provincial Secretary of Education and Literacy Department of Sindh which envisaging on campaigns against corporal punishment, survey and teachers trainings in selected schools of the province. The proposals stressed that government should develop a complaint mechanism and teachers code of ethics, while government must make sure a monitoring system on corporal punishments in schools. Education Secretary Rizwan Memon welcomed the proposals and assured that the goals of SPARC and the departments are same so we will support the programme. The recommendations quoted the research said that the dropout rate from schools in Pakistan is higher than other countries and this is 50 per cent and the core reason is punishments in schools. As far as the development of Pakistan as a nation is concern we are so far from the status of a developing nation because the education ratio is still poor, SPARC in its recommendations noted. It said that different governments and other stakeholders have amalgamated to support the development of basic education in Pakistan. Education is widely considered as the route to social equity, economic prosperity and the spread of political socialisation and cultural vitality. In Sindh, only 3.917 million children out of a total 11.743 million were enrolled in schools, which showed that about 67 per cent of the total child population was not going to school, SPARC report said. There are many reasons for this such as equity and gender discrimination, cultural and religious attitudes, efficiency and quality of teaching, relevance of education, and ineffective policies of school system. But two main issues we are also facing such as fewer enrolments in primary level and high drop out rate as according to the different researches and reviews, 35,000 children every year leaving the schools or not promoting in secondary level to the primary in Pakistan. The main reason behind the high drop out ratio is corporal punishments in schools, it added. Report noted that in 2007, the government of Sindh, education & literacy department had issued a circular to stop corporal punishment in schools. It was an appreciable step but do not provide a complete complaint mechanism nor mention the specific rules and regulation. In the presence of Section 89 of PPC, absence of positive teaching techniques and discipline and complaint mechanism with a strong monitoring system the issue is not ending but increasing day by day. There is need that we should shape policies aimed at making education inclusive, responding to the diverse needs and circumstances of learners and giving appropriate weight to the abilities, skills, and knowledge they bring to the teaching learning process, SPARC said.