Corporal punishment in schools: discipline or abuse?

Corporal punishment in schools is often perceived as an effective way to discipline children, but such cruel approaches have many detrimental impacts on the physical and psychological well-being of a child. 
In fact, corporal punishment has no limits and it could be anything from a beating with the hand to using a cane, wooden rod or any other harmful tool. 

Sri Lankans have become numb to incidents of abuse against women and children to the extent that they are no longer surprised to hear about these incidents when reported in the news. The most recent incident was reported from Millaniya, Horana where three Grade 5 students of  Millaniya Primary School, who  were punished by the school  teachers accusing them of stealing a purse belonged to a teacher. Then they were handed over to the police who allegedly tortured them and used electric shocks on them while they were in the police vehicle. 

The incident was reported on November 6 and according to media reports, several Grade 5 students of Millaniya Primary School, Horana were accused of stealing money from a teacher’s handbag and the teachers and the Principal punished the children thereafter.

Later on, the teachers handed the students to the local Police. Two children speaking to the news channels alleged that the Police tortured them using electric shocks while on the way to the Police Station, threatening them to reveal the truth. 

Thereafter the boys were dropped back at school. One child who spoke to the media claimed that one of them had suffered wounds following the torture and had been admitted to hospital. 

In his comments to the media, National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) Chairman Udayakumara Amarasinghe said that the Judicial Medical Officer has confirmed that the students have been tortured. As such this is a serious offence as per the law in Sri Lanka. In addition, the Police officers and teachers in question have been summoned by the NCPA to record statements. They were produced in court on November 8. 

“The vehicle that transported the children has been seized by the NCPA as evidence and an investigation has been launched to check whether there was equipment inside the vehicle to give electric shocks to people inside the vehicle,” Amarasinghe said speaking to the Daily Mirror. 

“The NCPA is already conducting preventive education programmes and school-based child protection committees too have been established,” he said.

Responding to a query on the reasons as to why teachers punished students, Amarasinghe said that most teachers say ‘Lamai hadaganna thamai gahanne’ (we hit students to discipline them). 

“But from a personal point of view, it looks like teachers are going through stress and they are overwhelmed with work and are working under pressure. Therefore we hope that the Education Ministry officials will intervene in this matter and take necessary action.”
 

When contacted, Western Province Education Director Srilal Nonis said that the Ministry had also launched an investigation on November 8 and that necessary action would be taken based on the report. 

“We have been conducting awareness programmes for teachers on how to discipline students and such a programme was recently conducted in Horana. But unfortunately, this incident was reported. We don’t encourage corporal punishment in schools since it has been banned but one or two incidents are still being reported.”
A separate investigation is being conducted by the Police on the alleged conduct of the Police Officers. 

“The Police Special Investigation Unit has launched an investigation into the incident. Normally there is no such equipment to give electric shocks to people in our vehicles. The vehicle only has a battery. Therefore we want to further investigate this matter. Right now the said vehicle has been seized by the NCPA,” said Police Media Spokesperson SSP Nihal Thalduwa.

Three Police officers, the school Principal and a teacher who was arrested by the NCPA were later produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court and were remanded until November 16. 

In the meantime, the Principal has been suspended from work.