Okara students forced to clean gutters, education officer suspended

Report by Javed Sikander

The assistant education officer of Okara was suspended Monday after a video of him forcing students to clean gutter went viral on social media.

The video obtained by SAMAA TV shows two young boys, clad in uniforms — white shirt and grey pants, standing by a gutter. It’s day time and students have spades in their hands. A man screams at them. The children resume cleaning a huge pile of trash from the sewerage.

They have been forced to do so by the assistant education officer of the district, Samiullah.

As soon as the video went viral on social media, Samiullah was suspended and subsequently arrested. An inquiry has been initiated against him.

The chief education officer of the area said that he was horrified when he saw the video. “We can’t let anyone exploit students like that.”

The students’ parents have, on the other hand, appealed to Punjab CM Usman Buzdar to take immediate action against such officers who misuse their posts.