Corporal punishment

Rashmi Saksena
The countrywide outrage at a class V student being ordered by the hostel warden of Shantiniketan’s Patha Bhavan School to lick her urine as punishment for bed wetting is still to die down. Close in its heels has come a report from Tamil Nadu of a 14 year old being hospitalized after being caned by three teachers. Another seven year old girl in a Virudhunagar school (Tamil Nadu) was allegedly beaten by her teacher for not reading aloud in class. All the three incidents have taken place in the span of just one month…July 2012.
If one goes back the years there are enough shocking cases of corporal punishment leading to death of children. It was the suicide by 12 year old Rouvanjit Rawla following caning by his school principal in La Martiniere of Kolkata in 2010 that sparked a countrywide debate on how children are punished by teachers.  In 2009, 11 year old Shanno Khatun died after being made to sit in the “murga” position in the sun for hours in a Delhi school. In 2007 a six year old was stripped and made to stand on her desk because she had not done her homework.  January 2011, 14 year old Afzal died in Karnataka after he was made to jog in his school grounds by his teacher as way of punishment. A class VIII student in Bhiwani was hit on his head by his teacher and had to be hospitalized. He had returned to school after a brain tumour surgery.
Though there is no dearth of such cases reported from schools in India, the country has yet to recognize corporal punishment per say as a crime. Corporal punishment is still not a criminal offence in India. This means that no case can be registered by the police under the crime of corporal punishment. All that has happened so far to bring an end to the primitive practice of corporal punishment is a 2000 ban on it by the Supreme Court of India. The SC ruling is naturally followed by all the other lower courts in the country. Then there is the 2010 set of guidelines by the Ministry of Women and child Development. In March this year The National commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) announced guidelines defining corporal punishment and recommending steps to end corporal punishment which is nothing short of a violation of human/child rights.
At present, corporal punishment is unlawful under the RTE. It is a civil matter and not a criminal offence. Action against teachers who cause mental harassment by verbal abuse, cause physical injury, sexually abuse or discriminate against a student is booked under IPC sections depending on the type of offence. For example if it can be Section 323 of the IPC which deals with causing hurt or injury. Corporal punishment is not a cognizable offence in India. It continues to be treated as a peripheral offence. “It is sad and a serious matter that needs attention when crimes are being perpetrated by teachers in schools against millions of children in the name of disciplining them and corporal punishment is still not seen as a criminal offence” says Amod Kanth former Chairperson of the Delhi commission for the Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR).
The DCPCR has taken the initiative of invoking Sec 23 of the Juvenile Justice Act 2000 to take action against teachers who cane, bully, intimidate and show verbal rejection in the name of disciplining a student. These remain bailable offences. Those who violate the ban on corporal punishment for the first time can be jailed for a year or fined Rs 50,000 or both. While these initiatives have been taken to put an end to the archaic practice of handing out corporal punishment the fact is that it is a reality of school life in India. The main reason is that a sizeable number of teachers and surprisingly also parents are of the opinion that there is merit in the adage ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’. The NCPCR carried out a study in the academic year 2009-2010 covering 6632 students across seven states. Of them only nine respondents said they had not faced corporal punishment. This means that 99% of the children had been at the receiving end of corporal punishment including electric shock. 81.2 % of the respondents had faced rejection by being constantly told in public that they can’t learn. 75% had been beaten by a cane, 69% slapped on the cheeks, hit on the back and had their ears boxed. 0.4 % had been administered electric shock.
The NCPCR has along with guidelines has called for affirmative action in schools to bring about positive engagement with children. It has also recommended that teachers give a written undertaking that they will not hand out corporal punishment. Schools should also have an annual audit of physical punishment, harassment and discrimination and only those schools that have a corporal punishment free record be granted recognition. The guidelines have done a noteworthy service by not only defining corporal punishment but by bringing sexual abuse and discrimination under its ambit. The NCPCR has recommended that schools constitute corporal punishment cells which will hear complaints and forward its recommendations to district level authorities within 48 hours of the occurrence of corporal punishment.
However, these initiatives need to be backed by legislative intent. Bans and guidelines can help but to only a point. If our children have to be saved from teacher inflicted mental harassment, physical injury, verbal and sexual abuse as well as discrimination, corporal punishment has to be recognized as a crime and erring teachers booked under the specific law. Corporal punishment cannot be allowed to scar our children at times leading to death. It has to be eradicated from schools and the lives of children. (IPA)

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