The law is quite clear on corporal punishment. On December 1, 2000 the Supreme Court imposed a ban on corporal punishment in schools. Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 also declared corporal punishment illegal in schools. Clause 17 of the Act states that no child be subjected to physical punishment and mental harassment in any form.
Apart from legal aspect corporal punishment is not a psychologically corrective measure. There are various acceptable means to inculcate discipline in the young kids. Discipline in life is an indispensable part of a normal personality. A school is a place where the foundation of a disciplined life is laid. Children are amenable to the advice. In most of the cases children are anxious to win the favor of their teachers. Only a few children may pose a problem.
First and foremost, a teacher should be equipped to handle the students. It pays to spare a rod, after all. Counselling is the best part of corrective measures. Instead of complaining against the teachers, parents should regularly monitor the behaviour of their children. What is more, there are a number of passive punishments by which kids can be corrected. Unruly children may be banned from participating in games and entertainment programmes for a certain period.
Teacher-Parents meeting can strike at the root of the problem. These meetings should not be treated as monthly rituals. Indiscipline among youngsters is a cause for anxiety. However, school going children in the age group of 6 to 16 years feel wide ranging influence in the form of television, advertisements, breakdown of joint family system, working parents etc. They need love and care from loving teachers. The medicore teachers who take up teaching as a career, when all other options are closed, cannot be expected to do their duty well as a teacher.
The government may have imposed a ban on corporal punishment but the practice of corporal punishment is still prevailing. The fact is that no action is taken against the erring teachers. Otherwise how else can one account for the reports of ripped ears, damaged eardrums, broken knuckles, bruised organs and sometimes even death? The ultimate truth is that the concept of corporal punishment is deeply rooted in the psyche of Indian teachers.
A slap for a 10th or 12th standard child is not just a slap. Unable to show resentment his confidence is dented. The slander sticks on him like a mud. Corporal punishment is prevalent even in Britain, Canada and many states of America though it has been abolished on paper. It is still believed that the use of corporal punishment leads to immediate compliance. In the 21st century we need to adhere to new technique under which children should be effectively disciplined and should learn in the process. There will be no justification for using physical punishment for enforcing discipline in schools.
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