ISLAMABAD, Sept 20 (ABC): Internet safety training has reached 12,575 students, teachers and parents across 100 government schools under a collaboration between the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and TikTok.
According to documents available with Wealth Pakistan, PTA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TikTok to promote safe and secure internet use among young people.
Under the collaboration, training for students, teachers and parents has been completed in 100 government schools, benefiting 12,575 participants.
Online safety material developed
The initiative also includes educational and awareness material to help children and parents understand online risks.
The material includes a Children’s Toolkit, Digital Hifazat Workbook and Comic Book for students, along with guidelines for parents. PTA has made the material available on its website for public access.
The awareness campaign also produced five short videos covering key aspects of internet safety. The videos focus on protection from online predators and cyberbullying, as well as safeguards against hacking threats, hate speech and misinformation.
The videos were disseminated through social media to expand the campaign’s reach.
PTA, UNICEF collaborate on child protection
PTA is also pursuing child online protection initiatives in collaboration with UNICEF. The authority signed an MoU with UNICEF to help safeguard children against online risks.
As part of the collaboration, Child Online Protection awareness posters were disseminated through social media platforms. The campaign encourages safe and responsible internet use and highlights the role of parents in protecting children from online risks.
A guidebook for parents and caregivers titled Safeguarding Your Child in Digital Age was also developed in collaboration with UNICEF, Telenor and the National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC). PTA has made the guidebook available on its website.
A nationwide toll-free Child Protection Hotline, 1121, has also been allocated for reporting cases related to child abuse. Pakistan is also participating in UNICEF’s ongoing Disrupting Harm project.
More than 8,000 reached through trainer programme
The PTA-UNICEF collaboration also includes a nationwide “Train the Trainer” programme. It aims to equip students, caregivers and teachers with skills to identify and handle online risks.
Under the programme, 15 Master Trainers have been trained to prepare 210 facilitators. These facilitators subsequently conducted awareness activities benefiting more than 8,000 participants.
Training sessions for partner organisations and PTA officers have also been conducted to strengthen institutional capacity.
Together, these initiatives aim to increase awareness among children, parents, teachers and caregivers and promote safer and more responsible use of digital platforms.
