corporal punishment should be banned in all educational institution.Give your views for against
Answers
There is so much to read that it would take a long time to go through it all…
I doubt whether there is anyone who has gone through the education system in India and not suffered humiliation at the hands of a teacher – pinching and slapping being some of the milder punishments. Caning is more common in boys’ schools. Other harsh punishments like standing in the hot sun the whole day is also common, yes in girls schools as well. (A comprehensive list of punishments is given here.)
Verbal abuse is routine. I had a science teacher who routinely mouthed obscenities of a nature I cannot pen down here.
Punishments are given for minor misdemeanors…like talking, not obeying an instruction quickly enough, fiddling with some object, not paying attention, wearing an uniform which is say an inch shorter that school regulations…
During our time it was not common to complain to the parents. Today’s children are bolder, but this is not always the case. This boy from Udaipur for instance did not tell his parents initially and this delayed treatment. The boy apparently comes from a middle class family – there is no doubt that corporal punishment is widespread and more severe in lesser known private schools and almost all government schools. The students are also more hesitant to complain about their teachers.
Some of my poor students from the slums have told me things that have made my hair stand on end. Beating, hitting, slapping, dragging is a regularfeature they told me calmly. It happenedevery single day to someone or the other in their class. Narrating any such incident to parents was humiliating. The parents would blame them, not the teachers. So these kids had accepted it as a part and parcel of life…and I felt had internalised it. They justified the teachers behavior and demands. The teachers wanted them to be robots and this the students felt was desirable behavior, even though difficult. It was more difficult for boys they explained, the girls could remain still for hours…
It looks like that neither the schools nor parents are going to try to put a stop to this. At least not make any concerted effort. Its time the government stepped in and banned corporal punishment, at least in schools.
This is in keeping with world trends: Western Europe, most of Eastern Europe, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and South Africa have banned corporal punishment in schools. Australia has partially banned it. In the US, 23 states allow it. But I am sure the situation is not this bad in the US…they care about child rights.
There are countries which have gone a step ahead and banned corporal punishment at home. The countries are: Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Romania, South Africa, Sweden, the Netherlands, Ukraineand New Zealand.
Personally I don’t believe that corporal punishment either at school or at home works in changing behavior. It instills fear, not discipline…and it can do untold psychological harm and at times cause even death or permanent disability. I can’t begin to imagine the number of children who are growing up with emotional and physical scars in this countr
Corporal Punishment Should Be Banned in All Educational Institutions
Ellen Key, a great Swedish writer and educationist, has very appropriately said, ‘Corporal punishment is as humiliating for him who gives it as for him who receives it; it is ineffective besides. Neither shame nor physical pain have any other effect than a hardening one.’ The concept of corporal punishment has become obsolete. The scientific study done on the consequences of corporal punishment has confirmed its damaging effects on the victim’s body, mind and soul.
Corporal punishment has many disadvantages. It has been seen that children who were administered corporal punishment became stubborn and obdurate. Secondly, in many cases corporal punishment led to severe injuries or in certain cases death. Corporal punishment instills in the minds of children fear, which is diametrically opposite to the purpose of education. One of the aims of education is to make human mind free of all types of fear. So, corporal punishment and education cannot go hand in hand. It is a kind of child abuse. Most of the human rights organizations consider it a barbaric practice. Hence, corporal punishment has been banned legally. The Law prohibits corporal punishment.
Keeping in view the above mentioned views and arguments, corporal punishment should be banned at all educational institutes where it might have been practiced.