Corporal punishment: Change of mindset essential

Bangladesh is committed to abolish corporal punishment. Laws on the subject have been passed, but corporal punishment continues to be practised. Videos showing young children being brutally beaten up and injured by teachers are aired frequently on social media, without action always taken against the perpetrators. Corporal punishment is completely prohibited in 52 countries of the world. It is legally allowed in nine — Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Botswana, Tanzania, Guyana, Malaysia and Brunei. Bangladesh is one of 92 countries trying to eradicate it. The National Children Policy 2011 stipulates that “all forms of physical and mental punishment in educational institutions shall be prohibited, and a child-friendly system of imparting lessons be introduced so that the children and the adolescents do not have any physical and mental injury.” The Children Act 2013 too, expressly provides legal protection to children against physical violence. Section 70 of the act states that persons assaulting, ill-treating, neglects or forsaking any child under their custody, charge or care leading to an injury of health is a punishable offence. In 2010, the government issued two circulars asking the heads of all educational institutions to identify teachers who use corporal punishment and take remedial measures in accordance with the institutions’ rules.

One of the reasons corporal punishment continues to happen in Bangladesh is the cultural acceptance of a traditional and authoritarian style of parenting and teaching.  According to a recent survey carried out by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) with supports from Save the Children (SCI) an astonishing 67 per cent of parents in Bangladesh endorse the use of physical punishment in school to discipline their children, and 79 per cent have admitted to hitting them at home.   There is a common belief among parents that educational institutions will make their children good human beings. And they think corporal punishment is a requirement for this.

The evidence that corporal punishment is harmful to children is overwhelming. Children, in schools that use corporal punishment, appear to perform significantly worse in their academic tasks, perceiving their schools as a frightening place. Corporal punishment of children may seem effective to some guardians or teachers, but in the long term, it is extremely harmful to children’s physical and psychological growth. Guardians and teachers have to concentrate on counseling to correct children rather than use physical discipline on them. There’s no way we can treat corporal punishment as normal.

 

Corporal punishment: Change of mindset essential

Bangladesh is committed to abolish corporal punishment. Laws on the subject have been passed, but corporal punishment continues to be practised. Videos showing young children being brutally beaten up and injured by teachers are aired frequently on social media, without action always taken against the perpetrators. Corporal punishment is completely prohibited in 52 countries of the world. It is legally allowed in nine Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Botswana, Tanzania, Guyana, Malaysia and Brunei. Bangladesh is one of 92 countries trying to eradicate it. The National Children Policy 2011 stipulates that all forms of physical and mental punishment in educational institutions shall be prohibited, and a child-friendly system of imparting lessons be introduced so that the children and the adolescents do not have any physical and mental injury. The Children Act 2013 too, expressly provides legal protection to children against physical violence. Section 70 of the act states that persons assaulting, ill-treating, neglects or forsaking any child under their custody, charge or care leading to an injury of health is a punishable offence. In 2010, the government issued two circulars asking the heads of all educational institutions to identify teachers who use corporal punishment and take remedial measures in accordance with the institutions rules. One of the reasons corporal punishment continues to happen in Bangladesh is the cultural acceptance of a traditional and authoritarian style of parenting and teaching. According to a recent survey carried out by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) with supports from Save the Children (SCI) an astonishing 67 per cent of parents in Bangladesh endorse the use of physical punishment in school to discipline their children, and 79 per cent have admitted to hitting them at home. There is a common belief among parents that educational institutions will make their children good human beings. And they think corporal punishment is a requirement for this. The evidence that corporal punishment is harmful to children is overwhelming. Children, in schools that use corporal punishment, appear to perform significantly worse in their academic tasks, perceiving their schools as a frightening place. Corporal punishment of children may seem effective to some guardians or teachers, but in the long term, it is extremely harmful to childrens physical and psychological growth. Guardians and teachers have to concentrate on counseling to correct children rather than use physical discipline on them. Theres no way we can treat corporal punishment as normal.