MoU inked for child protection officers capacity building

PESHAWAR: KhyberPakhtunkhawa Child Protection and Welfare Commission and the University of Peshawar on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to build synergy for the nascent regional child protection centre and help cement in-service training for officers and social work officers across the province.

The MoU was signed by the acting vice-chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Naeem Qazi and Chief CPWC Ijaz Khan. Ijaz khan said that the agreement would go a long way to implement Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s vision to expand the child protection centre to offer services from a divisional to a regional centre.

“This is a paradigm shift that will offer in-service capacity building to child protection officers and social welfare officers in 19 districts”, he added. Ijaz Khan added that street and runaway children and child abuse menace could be addressed through such sound policy frameworks.

The acting VC was happy that Unicef, Social Work and CPWC allied to help students,child welfare and protection through academic linkages and exposures. He urged the three partners to work in unison for two years to end child exploitation and improve their plight.

Sohail Ahmad, a child protection specialist from Unicef, said that the agency was working to streamline child protection services and policies in the province. Dr Shakil Ahmad hoped this understanding would resolve HR issues for the commission and the university.

Director Planning and Development Professor Bushra Khan said the agreement would be fruitful for the final year students to acquire hands-on training and understand real-world social problems. She offered the university infrastructure for capacity building of the staff.