Following the Taliban’s mid-December attack on a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, teachers are receiving guns and training to use them as part of a bid to beef up security.
On December 16 Breitbart News reported on the attack in which more than 141 people were killed after Taliban militants overran the school. Most of the victims were between the ages of 12 and 16.
Now, according to The Express Tribune, teachers can be armed and many will be. Provincial Information Minister Mushtaq Ghani said they chose to arm teachers because “the province was unable to provide police-guards for all of its government-run education institutions.”
The Daily Mail reports that provincial education minister Atif Khan told AFP the teachers will not be required to carry guns but will be allowed to do so if they choose to. Khan said: “Carrying firearms for every teacher is not obligatory, but all those who want to carry firearms to schools willingly will be provided with permits.”
The first group of female teachers began their training with guns last week, and the training of a second group started on January 27.
The move to arm teachers for the defense of themselves and their students was opposed by Private Schools Teacher Association’s Malik Khalid Khan, who asked: “How is it possible to teach students in a class… holding a gun in one hand and a pen in another?”
Khan added, “A teacher holding a gun in the class will have a very negative affect on his students.”
Khan did not speak to the affect Taliban militants had the more than 141 people they were able to kill when teachers were not armed.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.