Corporal punishment is banned in the country but the laws are not being implemented properly. The fact that a brilliant student is afraid to go to school due to fear of punishment explains why students’ dropout ratio is increasing with each passing day.
This was said by Society for Protection of the Rights of Child (Sparc) Programme Manager Imran Takkar on Wednesday during a meeting with Executive District Office (EDO) Education.
According to a baseline survey on prevalence of corporal punishment conducted by Sparc, 33% parents considered corporal punishment as a main cause behind dropouts.
The survey also revealed that a majority of teachers believe in mild to moderate punishment as an ‘effective’ strategy to maintain class discipline.
Takkar suggested that the problem could be resolved through guidance counselling, adding that Sparc had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Elementary and Secondary Education Department under which teachers of 15 schools in Peshawar were trained on problem solving mechanism and alternatives to corporal punishment.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 28th, 2011.
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