Corporal punishment

The Islamabad High Court has banned corporal punishment in schools and by parents and guardians as a means to discipline children under 12. On the plea of celebrity activist Shehzad Roy, the court has suspended Section 89 of the Pakistan Penal Code that allows for the use of corporal punishment by teachers and parents. It is a welcome decision considering the increasing use of physical punishment by teachers in schools. In a written order, the court noted that “corporal punishments are not in consonance with the constitutionally-guaranteed inviolability of dignity notwithstanding Section 89 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860.”

The court also asked the human rights ministry to submit a report on the status of the compliance with the obligations of the State of Pakistan under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in relation to the prohibition of corporal punishment. It also instructed the federal government to advise the Private Education Institutions Regulatory Authority to issue guidelines to the private schools in the light of the court’s observations. However, the court order will be applicable only in the Islamabad Capital Territory.

Last year a school student died in Lahore after he was mercilessly beaten by his teacher for being late in submitting school fee. In recent years in Pakistan, several children have suffered serious physical and mental harm as a result of corporal punishment. Contrary to the popular belief that corporal punishment is effective in disciplining children, educationists and psychologists are of the view that this causes only harm. Experience has proven corporal punishment to be a classic case of good intentions gone awry. It is a common observation that this kind of punishment is mostly practised in private schools because a majority of teachers there are untrained. They are ignorant of child psychology and of modern trends in pedagogy. The case of the Lahore student also indicates that teachers resort to beating to vent their frustration over their ‘inadequate’ salaries.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th, 2020.

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