Spare the rod

Few months back, one of my best friends who is a Math teacher at one of the public schools of southern Lalitpur had a very serious issue to discuss about one of his students of grade ten. His students complained him that he didn't read because my friend didn't beat him as he had the habit of reading only after getting some punishment.  While he talked with his student, he found that he was so habituated to get the corporal punishment that he can't concentrate on his studies even if he tries to without getting punishment. And that very conversation with him came on my mind once again when I learnt that seventh grader Rasiyali Budha of Dang district had to get seven stitches in her pupil after being hit by a stick as a punishment by the teacher. I can hardly imagine the pain which Rasiyali is going through.

Rasiyali is the most recent example and she is not the only one to suffer from the harsh corporal punishment of teachers. Two months back four children of Kavre left their homes just to be away from the ill-treatment by their teachers. The environment of their school was so fearful for them that they ultimately thought leaving their place as their only way out. Besides them, there may be several other children who may not even dare to say that they also are one who are facing the brutality.

Rasiyali Budha

But a question whirls around why these kinds of punishments are preferred and is it really necessary? Isn't there other way out?

Physical punishments most commonly consists of hitting children with hand or belt, hitting with pipes and sticks and it also may include kicking or forcing a child to stay in painful positions. In Nepal corporal punishment is often considered necessary to children's upbringing, to facilitate learning and to instill discipline in the children. Parents and teachers argue that corporal punishment teaches the students so called 'the right way of life'.

In fact these kinds of arguments are just a way to beat around the bush. The discipline is not taught, it is learnt and the child's education is mostly from observation and imitation. And, different research studies have shown that the theory of corporal punishment as an ineffective discipline strategy with children of all ages and it is often proved to be dangerous. In reality, if persons are more hit during their childhood,, it is more likely that when they reach the adulthood, they hit their children, spouses or friends.

The problem is common both in developed and developing countries. The UN Secretary General's study on Violence against Children reported that only 2.4% of the world's children are legally protected from corporal punishment in all settings. One million children are affected by school violence each day. As per the Global initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, 90 countries continue to allow teacher to legally use corporal punishment and even in the countries where corporal punishment is legally banned, it is often poorly enforced.

In the context of Nepal, a study found out that 14% of student drop out is due to the fear of teachers. According to a survey done by Save the Children Norway, involving 100 students and 30 teachers at five government-aided and five private schools in the Kathmandu valley, a huge majority of the children experienced corporal punishment at school and almost all had seen or heard corporal punishment at school. Children said corporal punishment made them feel bad, unhappy, humiliated, depressed, angry, scared and embarrassed about facing their friends, and it made them lose interest in studying and feel like quitting school, whereas most teachers said that corporal punishment was effective and should continue to be used.

In addition, there is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in school in the Education Act 1971 or the Education Regulation 2003, though Article 7 of the Children Act 1992 has prohibited severe punishment on children. Article 4 of Chapter 9 of the Muluki Ain states that guardians and teachers shall not be held responsible for hurting a child in the course of education or defense, and Article 7 of the Children Act 1992 exempts "the act of scolding and minor beating to the child by his father, mother, member of the family, guardian or teacher for their interests of the child" from the execution of cruel treatment. And, unfortunately corporal punishment is lawful in alternative care settings.

Time has come to reexamine the saying "Spare the rod and spoil the child". According to educational experts who oppose the use of corporal punishment, use of positive reinforcement techniques reduces the frequency and the extent of misbehavior of the students. Human Rights Watch (1999) further states that teachers can reward students in a variety of simple ways. Methods like counseling, reinforcement and rewards are more helpful to inculcate discipline in the students. Similarly, it is necessary to pursue a set code of conduct and raise awareness among teachers for the child rights in order to stop undignified, inhuman and undisciplined tradition. The good efforts like the global campaign 'Learn without fear' should be promoted to create awareness about children's rights. These efforts need to have continuity. There is need for the governmental and non-governmental organizations to deliberately organize seminars and workshops where experts can be invited to teach teachers on the modern issues and changes in education as far as discipline is concerned as some might not have the knowledge on alternatives to corporal punishment.

In a society like ours where non-violence and peace has a great value, it's important that we cultivate these values in our kids from childhood. Where would it be possible, if it's not in school?