The 9.5 million children are still out of school in Pakistan and deprived of the right to education. These views expressed at a seminar arranged by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi to discuss the legal implications of Article 25-A 'Right To Education'.
The discussion comprising 50 participants included prominent lawyers from reputable law firms, public interest litigation lawyers, media, members of the civil society and former Justice Khalilur Rehman Khan Chairman Education Commission Punjab; Chaudhry Zulfiqar President Lahore Bar, Azher Siddique, Usman Raza Jamil (Raza Kazim Associates), Tanveer Jehan (DCHD), Qudsia Majid (Child Rights Cell AGHS), members of Child Rights Movement (CRM) Pakistan Coalition for Education members and others.
After an introductory presentation by Baela Raza Jamil, Director Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi on the legal issues and challenges of the Right To Education (RTO), the floor was open to assemble recommendations for steps to be taken for the successful implementation and tracking of the right to education laws being deliberated. The participants agreed that the recently passed right to free and compulsory Education Bill 2012 by the National Assembly for ICT needs comprehensive analysis and revision because of various ambiguities.
Azhar Siddique Advocate urged that enforcements of fundamental rights is the duty of the courts. The concern of implementation of RTE should also be presented to the judiciary for further action. Usman Raza Jamil stressed that whilst the courts are already overburdened and it is the responsibility of civil society to present important petitions for landmark decisions and remedies seeking better rules and solutions for the RTE Act.
Former Justice Khalilur Rehman with the help of various figures and facts highlighted that the Education Commission Punjab has achieved one of the major objectives by finalising the draft report, law and submitting to the government recently. Although this is a landmark achievement as various earlier ambiguities in the draft bill have been addressed in consultation with the stake holders but the approval and implementation is still in the hands of government, he added.
Moreover a consensus was reached that a formal resolution should be sent immediately to the government/Chief Minister Punjab to make the proposed RTE bill public for debate across the province to address any shortcomings before being passed as law.
The participants agreed that the landmark cases and operations of Education Law Centers (ELCs) around the world should be emulated and an ELC be set up in Pakistan by ITA in collaboration with law firms and law departments /research units. This step will serve as foundation for tracking RTE in Pakistan. The legal fraternity pledged their commitment for the RTE campaign and the formation of a much needed Education Law Centre.