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Protect Children From Corporal Punishment
By Raghavendra Rao of Poornaprajna Cyber Quest
In India every child need to be educated to make populous country surge forward in all spheres. Conducive atmosphere is not created in rural India for encouraging a child to go to school with enthusiasm. It is a matter of concern that even after sixty two years of achieving independence, we have not opened our eyes towards good education for all our children. Environment of a school remains the same as it existed in the days of ancestors centuries ago. One teacher handling many classes simultaneously, brandishing a stick towards students to keep them disciplined, ill equipped class rooms, insufficient furniture for students to sit on, teaching for the sake of teaching and salary – all these exist today. Children are not outspoken of the environment and their problems due to fear. They are not given an opportunity to express themselves. Scenario in urban areas is different. Convent education has overtaken formal schools of olden days. Children are bold enough to speak about what they feel. Children in urban schools are vulnerable to mischievous activities more than their rural counterparts. Common problem faced by children these days is corporal punishment. Corporal punishment is of two types – violent and non-violent. Violent type includes beating up the students with hand or stick or with any objects and injuring them. Non-violent type includes making them to stand up on the benches, running around the school grounds, kneeling down etc. I narrate an unfortunate incident of death of a six year old nursery class girl reported in news papers recently. In a nursery class-room a six year old child pinched her classmate. In response, the teacher found it fit to punish her by hitting on the head and the child fell unconscious. The teacher then locked her up in an almirah. As the girl did not return home, the worried parents complained to the police. A day later she was found floating in a water tank in the neighboring school. Teachers take extreme steps to discipline the children. However, majority of parents prefer punishment to their children if they are not behaving well in the class room. Children are very sensitive. Adults should be very careful in dealing with them. We normally scold, insult and humiliate children as if such acts would not hurt them. Such actions are ignored as non-violent. We have to realise the damage it can do to the child’s psyche if they are subjected to corporal punishment.
Corporal punishment should not be supported by adults and parents either in schools or at homes. Children should be respected. A possibility for interaction with children as individuals in their own right and enabling creation of a new culture of school is left unexplored. Corporal punishments must be banned at all levels. Public debate on necessity to ban corporal punishment is the need of the hour. Children should be encouraged in organized public platforms to expose their difficulties. Such an environment will help children to talk about their humiliation in schools and seek support of their parents. School administration should create a committee to look into the problems of children and invite feedback. Teachers’ conduct must be reviewed periodically. Teachers and students should be co-operative and supportive to address the problem of corporal punishment and child development. The Indian Penal Code also allows punishing of children up to 12 years of age if the intention is not to harm the child. Indian government would do well to amend the IPC to ban the corporal punishment at all levels. Only when we treat our children with respect and dignity in daily life we would be inculcating rich cultural norms and practices in them that lasts for a life time.
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