It is agonizing to note that despite specific directives issued by the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development (HRD) to ensure strict protection of child rights, besides so much awareness being created on the same among teachers to do away with corporal punishment, there have been cases of students being inflicted with physical torture and humiliation in schools all across the country, including Goa. What is most deeply abhorrent is that even toddlers in playschools are not spared. They are inhumanly being brutalised by their teachers and the so-called caretakers. Recently, Union Ministry for Women and Child Development has urged all child-related institutions to strictly eliminate corporal punishment by following the directives of HRD Ministry.
Children spend a major portion of their day in school, their teachers and classmates becoming almost an extension of their home and family. There have been instances wherein insensitive punishments like prohibiting children from using the toilet, meted out in both government as well as private schools. The ruthless conduct of the teachers is traumatising and denying children a safe environment to grow and thrive, needs to be dealt with an iron hand. Indeed, safety and well-being of all children must remain our top priority in order to pave a way for them to willingly go to school and truly enjoy the process of learning and growing up in a non-violent culture.
As per the HRD Ministry’s directives, school managements are required to strictly enforce protection of child rights, do away with corporal punishments and train teachers to rid their own mind of gender stereotypes. The directives give detailed strategies that require the teacher to impart to students life skills which can help them deal with emotions like anger and frustration even in situations outside the school. Schools are directed to give a student an opportunity to explain when he or she is late to reach school or lacking in cleanliness or weak in academic study.
In dealing with verbally confrontational students, the directives suggest that teachers try not losing their temper, raising their voice or using sarcasm. Teachers should try to actively listen and allow the student to calm down; call the student later when he/she is calm to debrief and avoid involving other students. When the issue is serious or acute, such as unprovoked aggression, vandalising, disturbing school routine, etc., explain to parents the need for immediate consultation with child psychiatrist, to prevent harm to the student and other students.
The HRD Ministry’s directives stem from a comprehensive study on corporal punishment in various schools across the country conducted by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), in the last about a decade. The NCPCR, among other things, has suggested in its report to make it mandatory for all school education boards to suo motto take cognisance of incidents of corporal punishment and make recognition and affiliation of an educational institution subject to creating a ‘corporal punishment free environment’. The NCPCR report strongly suggested setting up cells in school to monitor such cases.
Moreover, the NCPCR report recommended school teachers should provide a written undertaking stating that they would not engage in any action that could be construed as amounting to physical punishment, mental harassment or discrimination of any manner. Another important suggestion made by the NCPCR report is for schools to have annual social audit of physical punishment, harassment and discrimination, and the result of the audit should be made public before the start of every new academic session.
Despite the clear directives issued by the HRD Ministry, school children continue to be subjected to corporal punishment and mental torture by their teachers in a most uncivilised manner. And mind you, what we are aware of is just a tip of a huge iceberg of maltreatment of school children by their teachers, as many such incidents often go unreported by the students and their parents inorder to avoid further victimisation and harassment from teachers and school authorities. The worst victims of physical and mental torture in schools are the children from poor families and those coming from the ST, SC and other backward communities, because of their marginalized social status in our society. However, a common string running through all such barbaric incidents in our schools is that the teachers are venting out frustrations in their own personal life on the students.
The school management committee formed for each institution under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, are responsible for achieving and maintaining safe and secure environment for children in school. Principals and Head-teachers are tasked to strictly supervise other teachers and ensure that no child is harmed in any manner by the staff or even by older children. But, unfortunately, in many cases, Principals or head-teachers, who are otherwise not directly connected to students’ teaching, are themselves perpetrating the dastardly acts against the students, leave alone failing to enforce implementation of the directives issued by the government.
In this situation, it wouldn’t be out of place to suggest that the Government, while introducing counselling facility to students in schools, should appoint psychiatrists to regularly examine / evaluate mental health of the teachers who are inflicting pain on their students in an evil manner and escape unpunished. The government should also make necessary arrangement for all school teachers to mandatorily undergo periodical refresher course on the subject of protecting and upholding child rights.
(The writer is a freelance journalist).
