TOI : CURBING VIOLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM : Sept 19, 2007
THE PROBLEM OF DISCIPLINE
CURBING VIOLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
Catholic Board To Spread Word Against Corporal Punishment
Anahita Mukherji | TNN
Mumbai: Following repeated instances of violence in the classroom, the
Archbishop of Mumbai has asked Fr Gregory Lobo, secretary of the
Archdiocesan Board of Education (ABE), which runs 150 schools in and around
the city, to find solutions to tackle the menace of corporal punishment.
Within the past four days, TOI has reported two incidents of corporal
punishment in Mumbai; one involving a duster thrown at a four-yearold. “We
will ensure that parents are informed that corporal punishment is not
allowed, so that they can collectively put pressure on a teacher who hits a
child,” said Lobo.
Parents are often afraid to speak out against corporal punishment for
fear of their child being victimised. For instance, in January 2006,
nineyear-old Nirmal Paradva, a student at St Francis High School in Vasai,
came home with bruises on his arm, back and forehead after his teacher
assaulted him with a metal ruler. After his father filed a police complaint
against the teacher, the child was further victimised in school. Finally,
his
parents took him out of the school and admitted him to another one.
Some schools, however, do take complaints of corporal punishment
seriously. For instance, Bombay Cambridge at Andheri has even dismissed a
teacher on grounds of corporal punishment.
Fr Francis Swamy, principal of Holy Family High School, Andheri, said he
has made it clear to his teachers that corporal punishment will not be
tolerated. “I have
stated in staff meetings
that, in cases of corporal punishment, I will not side with the teacher,”
said Swamy.
At the Our Lady of Perpetual Succour School in Chembur, teachers have
been issued memos in such cases after the school authorities have carried
out an investigation. “We also counsel teachers on methods of disciplining
children while sparing the rod,” said Effie Acharya, school co-ordinator,
explaining how the problem could be better tackled.
Parents, too, have the power to take legal action against a teacher who
has injured a child. “The teacher in question, the school principal as well
as the management can be charged under section 23 of the Juvenile Justice
(Care and Protection) Act which deals with cruelty to a child,” said
professor Asha Bajpai from Tata Institute of Social Sciences.. The
punishment is six months in jail, a fine of Rs 1,000 or both. The teacher
can also be booked under section 323 ans 325 of the Indian Penal Code.
The centrehas now drafted the Offences Against Children Bill, which
deals with child abuse as well as action that can be taken, said Nilima
Mehta, consultant, Child Protection, at the ministry of Woman and Child
Development. The bill is yet to be enacted.