CNI schools to turn child friendly, ban corporal punishment

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, March 25, 2007
Many modern-day teachers, like teachers in their own childhood, still believe sparing the rod only spoils the child. The Churches of North India (CNI) is changing all that. It will ban corporal punishment in its schools and make its teachers ‘child-friendly’.
The rules being drafted for the accent-shift will take effect in July and protect children from punishments like having to stand up on the bench, stand outside the class, squat in a kneel-down position, being beaten with scales and insulted in front of others. In Kolkata, more than 10 schools including La Martiniere, Pratt Memorial, St. Thomas, St. James, St. Paul’s and St. John Diocesan, are gearing up for the change.
“All punishments that involve physical abuse or end in mental and social stigma for the child should stop. Such punishments have a lasting effect. A child should not also be asked to stand outside the class because this amounts depriving him. His parents are paying for his studies and he has the right to attend the classes. Making standing up on the bench too is no solution either. So we are making firm rules barring teachers from administering such punishments,” said CNI head Bishop P. S. P. Raju.
The rules will lay down what a teacher can and cannot do. He will teach his students, adivise even counsel them, but never resort to physical or verbal abuse to discipline them.
If a student turns out to be too obstinate or wayward, the teacher, for instance, can make him write ‘ I will never do this again’ a hundred times. He will explain to the student why he was being punished. But if the student repeats the offence, the principal will step in.
“If the principal fails to make him fall in line, he will speak to the student in the presence of his guardians. If that too fails, we will send him to a counsellor. If this fails to work, we will ask him to go some other school,” said Raju.
To avoid police complaints and lawsuits the whole process of ‘trying to correct an unruly child’ will be documented. “Just as we don’t want children to suffer, we also don’t want our teachers be harassed by our students parents.
A teacher might at times feel that a particular student could do with some mild scolding. But he must scold the child in the presence of another teacher. With proper documentation the school will able to prove its point in a court of law. To help teachers adapt to the new methodology, there will be orientation programmes every three months. We have subject-specific orientation courses. But these programmes will be on teaching techniques,” said Raju.
The curriculum will cover areas like fighting with exam stress, child management and will cover the basic instructions in the UN charter for child protection.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com