Sometimes one has to be cruel for kindness but it does not mean that one should mete out sub-human treatment to others particularly the innocent children at schools. The grisly story of self-immolation by a student of class six in Faisalabad is sufficient enough to tug the heartstrings of the most merciless person on this planet. In our country, anyone whom the Almighty bestows some authority puts on the mantle of the Pharaoh. A thirteen year old burnt himself to death when his headmaster did not allow him to sit in class as he had remained absent from the school for three consecutive days. No doubt, the ill-starred boy's father had already sent an application for a three-day-leave as the unfortunate teenager was to attend a marriage ceremony with his parents. Had the headmaster been at the best of his behavior, I think, such a gory incident would not have taken place. It is an eye opener that 50 percent of the students in our country stop going to schools out of fear of corporeal punishment. I advise the concerned quarters to induct those persons as teachers in schools who are psychologically fit and don't have diseased minds. Or otherwise such horrendous an incident that has taken place in Faisalabad will multiply instead of scaling down.
MUBUSHAR ALI SULEHRIA,
Wah Cantt, May 19.