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Punjab has moved toward a major child-protection reform as the Prosecutor General proposed a mandatory verification system requiring all current and future school employees to be screened through Pakistan’s Sex Offenders Register. The initiative aims to stop convicted offenders from entering educational institutions and to close the loopholes in existing background checks.
The proposal, submitted by Prosecutor General Syed Farhad Ali Shah to the Public Prosecution Department, stresses that the NADRA-maintained Sex Offenders Register remains critically underused, especially in environments where children are most vulnerable. The request will now be forwarded to the federal Ministry of Law and Justice for final consideration.
Officials said the proposed mechanism would apply to all public and private schools, colleges, and universities. Institutions would be required to verify every job applicant before hiring and also re-screen existing teaching and non-teaching staff to ensure no convicted offenders are part of the workforce.
Shah warned that conventional background verification cannot detect individuals with past convictions for sexual crimes, allowing them to re-enter academic spaces undetected. He emphasized that mandatory screening would become a proactive safety shield at a time when cases of child sexual abuse remain alarmingly high.
According to rights groups, Pakistan recorded 1,828 child abuse cases in 2024 alone, underscoring the urgency of stronger protections in educational settings. Officials believe that if approved, the new screening mechanism will act as both deterrence and a national safeguard for millions of students.
