Seminary Child goes missing:
12-year old cleric ran away for fear of corporal punishment
Forcible sending to Madarsah (seminary institute) and fear of corporal punishment, compelled the 12 years old cleric to escape to unknown place, parents searched him for eight days at every nook and corner but failed to recover.
Muhammad Usman Shaikh, father of Moharam Ali-12 resident of Akkri –Pithoro, district Umerkot, who is washman in Rangers at Karachi, registered NC at Pithoro police station here on Thursday, stating therein that his son who was studying in Madrasah Sibghat-ul-Quran al Qaderia at Pithoro, has been missing since 28th July 2011, added that early in the morning he left home for Madarsah along with his younger brother Maher Ali, but he did not go to Madarsah but went to unknown place.
When contacted he told INFN that he has three sons and three daughters, missing cleric Moharam Ali was his second number child. Two years before he was dropped from government primary school, where he was studying in class V and was admitted in Madarsah, where he had memorized five para of Quran Sharif by heart.
He said that he was not willing to go Madarsah in fear of corporal punishment, before this escaping attempt, he made three attempts to escape to unknown places. Once he escaped and was found at Mirpurkhas bus stand, secondly he escaped and was found at Badin Bus stand Hyderabad, third time he escaped and was found at Umerkot main bazaar, but this time they have searched him at every nook and corner but failed to recover.
Reason behind his present escape, he told that a day before his escape their seminary teacher Hafiz Shahid Rasool called him on phone and said that he is absent for a week, he was warned to be taught a lesson on his arrival in Madarsah. On the other day he went missing.
It is pertinent to mention here that according to unofficial data, at this time more than 52 Madarsah in Mirpurkhas, 40 in Umerkot are running, in each Madarsah average 100 clerics are getting education.
In all these Madarsah unchecked corporal punishment is on the rise. No checking on the literature they taught no check on sexual harassment etc. It is also observed that 56 percent population of Umerkot district is living below the poverty line, therefore mostly parents admit their children in Madarsah where according to poor parents their malnourished children are provided full nutrition and education, and especially their moral is developed living in good environment. Because, it has become hard for the poor parents who has large family, to provide better nutrition, dressing, diagnose and education to their children in this time of inflation.
One seminary teacher on the condition of anonymity said, “If it is written in any one’s destiny to complete education without punishment, then he will, otherwise some clerics who do not give required results, they are taught by scolding.”
“But teaching through punishment will never stay memorized in his heart for long time. Some teacher are merciful they avoid punishment, but others apply punishment,” he shared.