SRINAGAR: Dr Ziba Vaghri, an acclaimed expert on child protection and development, delivered a special extension lecture on ‘Role of Child Protection in Fulfilling Children’s Rights’ at the University of Kashmir on Tuesday.
Dr Ziba, an alumnus of the KU’s Institute of Home Science, is presently Associate Professor at University of New Brunswick, Saint Johan, Canada.
KU Vice-Chancellor Prof Nilofer Khan presided over the lecture session, which was attended by students of the Institute of Home Science and the School of Law.
In her presidential remarks, Prof Nilofer emphasised on the “right development” of children from their early childhood.
She said young students have a role to play beyond academics to serve the society by raising community-level awareness on the importance of child protection and development.
Saying that Dr Ziba’s lecture is an opportunity for the University to develop a strong alumni connection, the VC said that young students should draw inspiration from works of the invited speaker and develop the quest for learning from rich experiences of scholars of repute.
Referring to internationalisation of higher education in the country, the VC said the University will explore how best it can work with experts like Dr Ziba in the area of child protection.
The event, held under the umbrella of G20-Y20, was also attended by Dr Nidhi Kotwal, Principal, Government Degree College, Basoli, who is also an alumnus of the Institute of Home Science, KU.
In her extension lecture, Dr Ziba said early years are very important for children’s development within their specific environments. She said any aberrations or laxity in the early ages “can cost the society very costly because governments have to invest a lot at the later stage in addressing the resultant problems”.
She said problems related to early life experiences include school failures and criminality which lead to major health issues at later stages.
Dr Ziba also gave a detailed account of various aspects and principles of The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
Registrar Dr Nisar A Mir, who was a guest of honour, said the University’s multiple departments are working on child development and protection and it is important to have a collaborative effort to address the related issues and concerns.
Dr Mohammad Yasin, Faculty, School of Law, KU also gave a detailed lecture on legal perspective on “Child Rights in India: A legal perspective”. He referred to various new challenges which need to be dealt with to ensure a secure and dignified life for all children.
Dr Humaira Azim, Coordinator, Institute of Home Science, delivered the welcome address and highlighted the objectives of the lecture session. Dr Shafiya Nazir delivered the vote of thanks.