Staff Reporter
Peshawar
Teachers can play significant role as agents of change in promoting peace building and social cohesion in the society.
This was underlined by the speakers at a conference titled ‘Role of Teachers in Peace building’ organized by Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, Peshawar, in collaboration with Paigham-e-Pakistan on Friday.
Dr Samia Raheel Qazi, Quaid-i-Azam University Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Ali, MPA Humaira Bashir and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Vice Chancellor Dr Razia spoke on the occasion. A large number of intellectuals, scholars, academicians, civil society members and students participated in the seminar.
In their addresses, the speakers said the role of teachers is important for implementation of laws to achieve lasting peace and protection of human rights in society. They said education in general has been envisaged to play a crucial role in the reconstruction of the country, economically, socially and even emotionally.
They stressed the need for immediate steps to rein in growing tendency of extreme behaviours among the vulnerable younger generation in the country as well as help the faculty to take steps required to manage deviant behaviours and the drivers of extremism through different techniques, including the anger management.
The speakers said that the faculty of schools can hugely contribute towards nation building and making Pakistan a place where wisdom, peace and harmony prevails.
They said the teachers as agents of peace can address the legacy of violent behaviours in contexts where religion, sect and ethnicity have mitigated against the promotion of social cohesion in the society.
They stressed that schools and classrooms need to be used to engage students for bringing about a mindset change. Students need to be taught about tolerance and how they can live and co-exist with other people from other faiths and from other cultures, they said.
