MARDAN, Jan 14: Participants of a consultative workshop on corporal punishment in schools asked teachers to avoid physical and mental punishment and adopt a friendly attitude towards their students.

Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc) had organised the workshop for teachers of different schools of the district.

The participants included Sparc Peshawar programme manager Imran Takar, Mardan district coordinator Saeed Usman advocate and teachers belonging to different schools of the city.

The participants discussed different ways regarding elimination of the practice of corporal punishment from schools and suggested ways to be adopted to eliminate this cruel practice.

Some of the teachers gave fruitful suggestions and asked their colleague teachers to try to teach in a very friendly atmosphere which could be useful for students.

They were of the view that there was need of teachers-students meetings on monthly basis and the students should be allowed to speak openly while discussing their problems or giving meaningful suggestions to their teachers.

The speakers pointed out that usually students committed mistakes while speaking in front of their teachers or some time due to the communication gap between the students and their teachers.

The participants expressed strong commitment to avoid the old method of punishment like physical and mental torture to students, adding that they would try their best to teach their students in very friendly atmosphere and would take measures for removing hesitation of students while sharing their ideas with the teachers. SHOT DEAD:

A woman was killed and three other persons including her husband received multiple wounds when their neighbours opened fire over them after exchange of harsh words over a petty issue in Batagram village of Garikapora area on Thursday.

Officials of Garikapora police station quoted the FIR as saying the accused Sher Afzal and his sons Nadar and Ramdad allegedly gunned down Taj Bibi and injured her husband Wasil and other two other relatives Farzand and Wakif Khan after exchanging hot words with them over entering the former's fields without permission.