Ghurki lauds efforts to eradicate child labour

ISLAMABAD, July 7, 2010: Federal minister for Social Development and Special Education Ms Samina Khalid Ghurki Wednesday lauded the efforts of the teachers of National Centres for Rehabilitation of Child Labourers to bring the working children back to education and to eradicate child labour.

She was addressing at the ceremony for a training workshop of the teachers of the centres set up by Pakistan Baitul Maal. “Teaching is a noble profession and the government is committed to give teachers’ a top priority,” she said.

She said it is very difficult to attract working children towards education but a sustained and collaborated effort may succeed in bringing them back to schools. She hoped that such refresher courses would certainly enhance the capability of the teachers imparting education to children at the rehabilitation centres.

Earlier speaking at the ceremony, the Managing Director Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal Zumurrad Khan said that child labour is a stigma for our society.  “I get upset when I see tools in the hands of innocent children instead of books.” he added.

He said it was his leader Shaheed Benazir Bhutto who had established a rehabilitation centre (school) for the working children in Faisalabad back in 1996. Since then, now there are 159 such centres across the country with a commitment to root out child labour.

Member National Assembly Ms Shakeela Khanum also addressed the workshop and appreciated the work of the centres, teachers and Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal in this regard.