Corporal Punishment: Necessity for Prohibition in Schools

Background
The corporal punishment is a very regular affair in thousands of schools in our
country. In the age of scientific teaching, caning or beating that is contrary to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights causes mental trauma. The children,
today, are not only carrying overload of text books and note books on their tender
backs, but bear the brunt of canes for silly reasons like sox not matching the
shoe or lace not being properly knotted. Teachers ask them to stand or kneel
down' under scorching sun. Sometimes students are asked to complete the
assigned writing work in kneel down position. Physical instructor uses his hard
hand to severely injure the kids who do not follow the instructions.
The teachers in schools are making several inventions for punishment. For
example, one co-ed school follows the rule that a boy will receive slap from girl
for not doing homework or not answering a query and vice versa. Another school
invented an imaginative method of getting the boy beaten up by girl studying in
lower class. Another teacher takes the wrongdoing child to each class of different
year as per schedule to further inflict insult.
The time has come to re-examine the age-old practice. Children are at receiving
end both at their own homes and schools from parents, teachers and non-
teaching school authorities. The big question is why do the teachers punish
children?
Emotional Consequences of Unilateral Disciplining Processes
The law basically does not agree with any excessive punishment, which would
be a violation of personal right or of human rights. Research studies show that
the theory of corporal punishment was an ineffective discipline strategy with
children of all ages and it is often proved to be dangerous. The punishment of
such kind leads to create anger, resentment and low self-esteem. It teaches the
children violence and revenge as solutions to problems. Various studies reveal
that the children whose parents use corporal punishment to control antisocial
behaviour show more antisocial behaviour themselves over a long period of time.
A frequently hit child will be a problematic person tomorrow. There is another
serious consequence: the probability of children assaulting the parent in
retaliation also will increase with the corporal punishment. The same attitude may
reflect in the schools against the teachers also.
Beside attitudinal change, there may be a psychological disadvantages also. The
children might begin to believe that it is good to use violence. They develop
bullying tactics against weaker persons. The unilateral process of penal
disciplining of the children either at home or at school will lead to three kinds of
reactions namely fear, hatred and anger. These three will contribute adversely
and in the long run, children are moulded into complex personalities.
The Law and Childhood Rights
Who can punish whom? What is the crime for which punishment can be inflicted?
Whether parents or teachers or school managers have any adjudicatory authority
to decide circumstances under which a punishment can be inflicted, the
quantum, method and timing or punishment? Can't this an act of violation of
human rights?
According to law, the adjudicatory authorities alone have authority to hear
complaints, try the contentions and draw the conclusions as liability and penalty.
The corporal punishment, especially envisages a legal process and appropriate
authority to fix the guilt according to established and enforceable law. Not
otherwise. In India, the education system itself promotes corporal punishment.
Teacher is assumed as a respectful person. This power includes power to inflict
corporal punishment.
One Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in Delhi High Court by Parents
Forum and Meaningful Education (AIR 2001 Del 212), challenging the provisions
of the Delhi School Education Rules 1973 providing for corporal punishment to a
student. The judgment held that inflicting physical punishment on a child is not in
consonance with his or her right to life guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian
Constitution. Just because a child is small he or she cannot be denied of these
rights . Even animals are protected against cruelty. Our children are surely
cannot be worse off than animals, said the High Court.
Similarly, the Calcutta High Court in 2004 also favoured banning of age-old
practice of caning or beating students in state schools. The practice, which could
lead to death, is still prevalent in many states of our country. Acting on a PIL filed
by advocate Tapas Bhanja, a division Bench told the director of school education
to issue a circular to all state (West Bengal) schools prohibiting caning. Calcutta
High Court's directive on imposing a blanket ban on caning of children in state-
run schools in West Bengal evoked a positive response from teachers and
parents.
Position of State Governments
Different State and Union Territory governments such as Andhra Pradesh, Goa,
Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh and Karnataka have already imposed a total ban on
corporal punishment in all educational institutions and issued instructions to
district education officers to ensure implementation. Both CBSE and ICSE
boards banned corporal punishment in late 2003, after a girl died, obeying a
teacher's order to run around the school ground till she collapsed. Although these
are encouraging steps, majority of states have not taken any step in banning
corporal punishment.
Legal Position & Child Rights
Law and legal systems are expected to protect the children from abuse by
authorities either at home or at schools. Children below seven years are
exempted from criminal liability. This means that there can be no corporal
punishment even under penal provisions based on the principles of doli incapaxi .
Similar exemption is extended to children of above seven years and under twelve
of immature understanding under Section 83 of Indian Penal Code (IPC). In
essence, a child cannot be subjected to ordinary methods of physical
punishments including imprisonment for the offences owing to their age and
incapacity of formulating a malicious intention. Thus, for being a student and
having committed a mistake of not doing homework or violating a dress code,
should not invite any corporal punishment.
IPC Section 88 protects an act, which is not intended to cause death, done by
consent and in good faith for person's benefit. Master chastising pupil fall under
this clause. A head teacher who administers in good faith a moderate and
reasonable corporal punishment to a pupil to enforce discipline in school is
protected by this section and such an act is not crime under Section 323.
Section 89 of IPC protects an act by guardian or by consent of guardian done in
good faith for benefit of child under 12 years. However the same section says
that this exception will not extend to cause death, or attempting to cause death,
or causing grievous hurt. These provisions extend to teachers having quasi-
parental authority i.e., consent or delegation of authority from parents also, of
course, with exceptions. Using excessive force, causing serious injury, purpose
being very unreasonable can turn the act of the guardian or teacher with the
consent of guardian, an offence, because such incidents are outside the scope of
good faith.
According to a senior police officer of our country, on parents' complaints,
sections 323 and 504 of the IPC can be invoked against teachers for threatening
and inflicting simple injuries while those who are in a habit of using canes or
other harsh measures can be dealt with under section 506 for grievous injuries or
section 304 for committing culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Likewise, Section 23 of new Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 provides punishment for
cruelty to juvenile or child. Whoever, having the actual charge of or control over a
juvenile or the child, assaults, abandons, exposes or willfully neglects the juvenile
or causes or procures him to be assaulted, abandoned, exposed or neglected in
a manner likely to cause such juvenile or the child unnecessarily mental or
physical suffering shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may
extend to six months, or fine, or with both.
These provisions justify legal reforms that will impose criminal liability on parents
or teachers and other adults who cause injury through violence and use corporal
punishment. There must be a clear law and policy to curb domestic violence and
battery of child by parents. Parents and teachers are legally accountable for
violence and abuse of authority. However there is a need to spell this liability in
clear terms of law for more certainty and to cause fear of law among them. Going
by these norms, the concept of human rights and protection rights of children, it
is to be understood that there is no minimum' acceptable in corporal punishment.
Since it goes against the general principles of civil liability, imposing harm or
corporal punishment on children in schools should be stopped immediately as it
may result in causing injury or harm to the child.
With a motive to completely ban corporal punishment, the Ministry of Human
Resource Development (HRD), Government of India has also mooted an idea to
bring legislation. The proposed bill intends to amend the Free and Compulsory
Education for Children Bill banning slapping, caning or any other form of physical
punishment by teachers to school children. The bill suggests that violation by
erring teachers should be treated as criminal act punishable under various
sections of the Indian Penal Code. Besides provisions were also being made that
if parents don't lodge complaints in such cases, school principal and authorities
would be made responsible for informing the police to initiate criminal
proceedings against guilty teachers. The bill would allow the police to take suo
moto cognizance of such incidents in schools.
Need to Prohibit the Corporal Punishment by Law
The Government should unhesitatingly introduce a legal provision, not in rules
but in the main text of the law itself, prohibiting any form of corporal punishment
in the name of discipline or making the children do home work or some other
observation of code. There should neither physical nor mental punishment.
Corporal punishment against the children is definitely a gross violation of human
rights and thus, need to be checked with immediate effect. We cannot wait for
some school students to commit suicide.