ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court has emphasized the need for every educational institution to adopt a clear internal harassment policy, establish effective reporting and investigation mechanisms and enforce strict disciplinary measures against offenders, while restoring punishment to a male teacher found guilty of harassing a female colleague.
In a 12-page judgment authored by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, the SC overturned a decision of the Punjab Service Tribunal that had reduced the teacher’s punishment.
The court ruled that institutions may not await decisions from the federal ombudsman or provincial ombudsman before stepping into the departments in harassment cases.
The judgment noted that in order to ensure a foolproof and healthy environment in the workplace, including in all the institutions where both male and female teachers are employed and perform their duties, there must be an internal transparent harassment policy with a proper reporting system to the higher-ups, including the head of the educational institution, so that a fair investigation can be conducted against the criminal.
“If the allegation is proved after a fair trial, disciplinary action may be taken against any such person found to be indulging in such malicious and immoral activities, which should be carried out independently at the departmental level and not always based or found pending the outcome of the decision, if any made by the Federal Ombudsman or the Provincial Ombudsman for the Protection of Women’s Workplace at the Workplace.”
A division bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar observed that the head of any educational institution has a great responsibility to ensure a workplace where sexual harassment is unequivocally unacceptable and professionalism remains the governing standard.
The court directed that copies of the judgment be sent to the federal secretary for education, the chief secretaries, the provincial secretaries of schools and higher education, the federal ombudsman and all provincial ombudsmen to strengthen measures to eliminate sexual harassment in public and private educational institutions.
It stressed strict enforcement of the Code of Conduct for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace framed under section 2(c) and 11 of the Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2010.
“Furthermore, instructions should be issued by an Office Order/Circular of the Ministry of Education (Federal and Provincial) to all persons in command of government and private educational institutions to display the copy of the Code of Conduct for Protection against Harassment of Women at Work in English and other vernacular languages in conspicuous places and also issue an instruction in the law at home” every government and private educational institution to deal with the cases.”
