In a significant move to strengthen child protection across Pakistan, Punjab’s Prosecutor General Syed Farhad Ali Shah has urged the federal government to introduce a mandatory nationwide screening system for all employees of educational institutions against the national Sex Offenders Register.
Shah has formally submitted a proposal to the provincial Public Prosecution Department, calling for a comprehensive verification mechanism that would bar convicted sex offenders from securing jobs in schools, colleges and universities. The proposal is set to be forwarded to the federal Ministry of Law and Justice for further consideration.
Highlighting the urgency of the initiative, Shah stressed that the Sex Offenders Register—maintained by NADRA—remains severely underused in the very sectors where children face the highest vulnerability. He warned that basic background checks conducted by most institutions often fail to detect past convictions for sexual crimes, leaving a critical gap in existing safeguarding measures.
Under the proposed system, all public and private educational institutions would be required to screen both new applicants and current employees, including faculty, teaching staff and support personnel, before confirming their employment. The move aims to ensure that individuals with a history of sexual offences cannot gain access to environments involving minors.
Related: Punjab to Deliver High-Quality Education in Remote Areas
The call for reform comes amid rising concern over child safety, with Pakistan reporting 1,828 cases of child sexual abuse in 2024 alone. If adopted, the nationwide mandatory verification system would act as a powerful deterrent and significantly enhance protection for students across the country, marking a major step toward closing persistent loopholes in institutional safety protocols.