Fatal corporal punishment

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The savage beating to death of a madrassa student in a Swat village, followed by a ridiculous attempt at covering it up, is a reminder of the pathetic state of education in much of the country, as unqualified teachers sadistically punish children for common negative behaviours. In the Swat incident, three teachers allegedly tortured the child for missing classes — an ordeal that reportedly lasted five hours, according to other students who were forced to watch. The boy later died in the arms of another child who tried to give him water. The teachers then tried to tell the boy's family that he had fallen in the toilet and died, as if that would explain his injuries.

While barbarity is not the exclusive purview of madrassas — we regularly hear reports of schoolteachers employing corporal punishment — the inconsistency of oversight and lack of trained staff at such schools makes them much more susceptible to violence. Most madrassa students are from poorer backgrounds and may lack any alternative options for education, so they tolerate the abuse. It does not either help that religious leaders often push back against attempts to regulate madrassas, though they have no qualms about demanding taxpayer funding to support them wherever possible.

Meanwhile, weak laws mean that beating children is barely an offense. Under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection Act, corporal punishment carries penalties of six months' imprisonment or a Rs50,000 fine. And, as we noted, enforcement is nonexistent. The few cases that are actually pursued are ones where children are killed or beaten so badly that they end up in hospital.

If the government is unwilling to address the gaps in the madrassa system, at the bare minimum, it needs to significantly increase penalties for corporal punishment and expand employer liability. If management and owners suddenly faced the prospect of years in jail because a child was beaten by a teacher, we are confident that conditions would improve overnight.