Corporal punishment: Vulnerable victimised

An 11-year-old girl dying in coma after being allegedly beaten and made to stand in the sun for two hours by a teacher in a MCD school in north Delhi has once again thrown up the debate about corporal punishments in schools. Several months ago, this city was agog with news of a child dying after being made to run a few laps of the sports ground at a local school.

There are many examples where there is a very thin line between corporal punishment and attempt to discipline. Physical punishment may take the form of throwing a duster or slapping a child on his back with a book. Children are often asked to kneel inside the classroom, to complete assignments kneeling down which can be very painful.

They are asked to stand outside in the corridor for disturbing the class either by asking too may question or cross talking. Some students are asked to cross their arms and hold their ears from under their legs for the entire period. Caning or hitting the knuckles with a ruler may not be in practice any more, but children are still subjected to ordeals like standing with their hands raised over their heads for 2-3 hours or being referred to a karate belt teacher who may use painful acupressure points as an act of disciplining.

Psychological punishment takes the form of public humiliation; sometimes the shortcoming of the child is made fun of in front of the entire class or mentioned in the assembly in an attempt to teach by disgracing. 

Often children with special learning needs, such as dyslexia, or hyperactive kids with ADHD or slow learning are ridiculed. They are labelled ‘stupid’ and ‘donkey’. Some reported cases have a paper pinned up on the student’s shirt saying ‘I am a fool’ and him paraded across the school.

Corporal punishment is a violation of child’s rights both at school and at home. Since a child is too young to understand and stand up for his/her rights, it is expected that parents, teachers and authorities clearly understand the law and legal status that protect children from abuse; be it physical, emotional, mental or psychological.

The CBSE board has been concerned about corporal punishment and disciplining norms being fear-inducing, since learning does not happen in an environment of fear. ICSE Board feels that strict action needs to be taken against schools that overtly or inertly exert corporal punishment. IB and ISC group of schools have long concluded even before any legal ban that corporal punishment is an impediment to learning.

In the absence of authentic statistics, I would hazard a guess to say that corporal punishments are on the decline. There is enough awareness of the changed norms for discipline. When I went to school, hitting on knuckles and throwing a duster was a standard practice. Today, teachers understand that disciplining has to be tackled in a positive manner.

The media focus on these issues highlights stray cases across the nation. The parent body is equally aware and demanding towards child’s rights. This heightened awareness will no doubt help bring complete attentiveness to these issues and help remove any grey areas in the understanding that discipline must be positive in order to foster learning.

The writer is  an entrepreneur and educationist