How Not To Teach – Too many schools are still tolerating corporal punishment. This must end

Source: The post is based on the article “How Not To Teach
Too many schools are still tolerating corporal punishment. This must end” published in The Times of India on 21^st November 2022.

Syllabus: GS – 2 – Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Education.

Relevance: About corporal punishment.

News: Two different news reports in recent times highlights that corporal punishment (CP) is still prevalent in schools to ensure student discipline.

What is corporal punishment?

It is any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort. CP cannot help students educationally or psychologically instead it only damages them.

There are clear legal injunctions against the use of force, including through RTE 2009 and the Juvenile Justice Act 2015. But despite the legal ban, these punishments are continuing in schools.

How can India remove corporal punishment altogether?

a) Civil societies and school administrations needs to do more concerted work to remove the CP, b) As envisaged by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, schools need clear protocols to help teachers deal with various possible student behaviours through positive disciplining, even parental engagement, and c) Schools need systems for monitoring teachers’ mental health.