corporal punishment

The practice of corporal punishment is often adopted by teachers, to implement discipline, among students. Corporal punishment is an extreme breach of children’s right to protection, besides being a form of physical/mental violence. As per Indian law, corporal punishment amounts to human rights violations too. According to the official report of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, conducted in 2007, on child abuse, two out of every three students are physically abused. Further, 73% of boys face physical punishment as compared to 65% of girls.  All of this makes children fear teachers and become miserable in class. However, most of the students choose to suffer silently, rather than reporting the matter to parents or to others.

The cautious whispers about teachers who cane children and make their life a complete misery within the classroom keep coming through news channels and news papers. Parents, if your children are going to school and they tell you that they are being caned, it is important to listen. Listen first before jumping to conclusions about whether the kids are lying or the teacher is acting in best interest. Incidents of corporal punishments and human rights violations are common in Indian schools. Some parents accept it because they believe teachers will not punish their children without reason. What we need to understand is that several innocent students are caned and harassed by their teachers, for trivial issues. Public humiliation caused by such punishments, is an extreme set back for a child. Besides creating fright, this affects a child’s mind and causes various behavioral and psychological problems.

Corporal punishment in school is the use of torture, inhuman treatment or punishment causing pain or injury to penalize for an offence such as misbehavior. Such punishments are often used by teachers in Indian schools to enforce discipline among children.