Shun corporal punishment to curb drop out rate in school: Minister

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, July 16, 2007
IF SCHOOL Education Minister Partha De has his way, schools will become a better place for students. The minister wants to curb drop-out rates and so he has asked teachers to shun corporal punishment as well as use of abusive words while dealing with students.
Speaking in the Assembly on Monday, De made it clear to both primary and secondary school teachers that actions amounting to mental torture for students should not be resorted to. He even warned teachers of punitive action if they beat up students.
“This is particularly applicable for primary school students who are first generation learners. We have not been able to cut back on drop-out rates and now if students are scolded or beaten up then they will get dispirited and leave school. To stop this, we are asking teachers to avoid any action that may amount to humiliation and mental torture for the child,” De said.
The minister admitted that recent newspaper reports showed that incidents of corporal punishment in schools were on the rise. Talking about harmful effects of such retribution, De said: “Earlier it was thought that unless a child is beaten up he would not study. But now, times have changed. The moment a child is physically punished he begins to fear the subject as well as the teacher. It de-motivates the student.”
He said: “Teachers who will beat up students will be punished. In serious cases, the teacher might be suspended. However, if parents seek police help then it will be left to the court to take action.”
The minister is serious about the initiative. The school education department is already organising orientation programmes for teachers.
“Apart from making teachers aware of training students on disaster management and fire fighting, the orientation programmes are teaching them how to handle a child without a cane,” De said.
The minister has also instructed primary school teachers to interact with parents and find out what students disliked about the school. The input, the minister said, should be used to reverse the drop-out trend.
Though many teachers do not encourage corporal punishment, they also feel that without it managing unruly children would be a problem. “The students are taking advantage of the changed circumstances. However, many teachers are trying to make students realise their mistakes, while several others seem to overlook the ill-behaved child,” said general secretary of the West Bengal Government School Teachers’ Association Dipak Das.
The Church of North India (CNI) is drafting rules for its teachers and students. Once in place, teachers in CNI schools will have to spare the rod and eschew verbal abuse.
Teachers of other private schools in the city also agree to the idea and are trying to adopt new methods.
“If a child is beaten up he might commit the mistake again. But if we detain mischievous children after school hours and force them to do two extra classes, or if we ban them from games’ class or from attending nature club exploration they will repent for their deed and do not repeat it again,” said Mukta Nain, principal of Birla High School for Boys.
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