What is corporal punishment?
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child defines corporal punishment as
“any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light (...) In the view of the Committee, corporal punishment is invariably degrading. In addition, there are other non-physical forms of punishment that are also cruel and degrading and thus incompatible with the Convention.” Corporal punishment comes in the form of both physical and mental abuse - therefore it is not a type of ‘punishment’ but an act of violence against children and breaches their human rights.
Why is corporal punishment being used in schools?
While teachers have different individual motives to regularly beat or abuse their students, our understanding from research and ground level work reveals that prevailing attitudes and structural problems within in our educational system account for the continued use of corporal punishment:
Many teachers perceive corporal punishment as an effective tool to control children’s behaviour and their academic performance
Oversized classrooms and insufficient infrastructure, especially in public schools, create a frustrating environment for teachers and students
The management culture and promotion system in government schools create few incentives for teachers to do ‘good job’
Schools often do not have adequate governance in place to respond to disruptive student behaviour and incidents
There is a lack of enforcement of existing school (safety) guidelines and to hold the school management accountable for violations
Pervasive violence, especially against children and women, in India’s society does not stop at the school gate but perpetuates the problem
The Research
We have launched our Research Report on Corporal Punishment, this Universal Children's Day. Until now, there has been very little effort to understand why this form of violence remains epidemic in our schools, what are its consequences and what are the possible leverages to eliminate this menace systematically and culturally.
Despite being illegal, school corporal punishment is an epidemic and widely accepted form of “low-intensity” violence against children, which enables and perpetuates other forms of violence in our society.
It has been a decade since the government conducted two studies to assess the magnitude of the problem, no systematic research has been done to understand the factors that put our children at risk.
Our report addresses this gap and provides detailed insight into the drivers behind school corporal punishment in Gurugram’s disadvantaged communities, explaining how and why children of parents who have migrated here experience corporal punishment at school.
Download the full report
Alex
alex@agrasar.org
We run a number of community schools for children of migrant workers, aiming to mainstream them into government schools. Last year, we were celebrating our success as a number of ‘our’ children were accepted into public schools. However, this sense of achievement soured quickly when we found out that they were beaten up by their teachers almost on a daily basis. Although we were able to stop those teachers, we believe that all of India’s children deserve to grow up and learn in an environment free of fear and abuse, and launched Kaagaz ki kashti, our campaign against corporal punishment in the schools of India.
Kaagaz Ki Kashti (K3) is based on 3 Ks
Knowing
Kindling
Knotting
Knowing
Recognition that corporal punishment in schools is a problem
Understand the drivers behind the use of corporal punishment
Conduct qualitative research in selected communities
Kindling
Initiate a dialogue with teachers, parents and children
Capacity building in using positive discipline techniques and more effective teaching methods
Raise awareness through a variety of channels
Knotting
Build foundation for larger-scale and nation-wide effort based on partnerships
Promote and disseminate the teacher toolkit beyond Gurgaon
Engage policymakers and administration for creating a suitable ecosystem
Tidings from the field
One of the 3 Ks for K3 is 'Knotting' / collaborating/ making friends with stakeholders. And here we got our chance to connect with the teachers of Government schools as we did a plantation drive to make the campus greener - which was highest on priority of the school teachers! Children, their teachers, corporate volunteers and Agrasar team participated in the event.
We are in the process of conducting qualitative research in the migrant worker communities in Gurgaon to understand the issue of Corporal Punishment. The study involves children aged 7 to 15 years, their parents, and government school teachers. Our interns from the the Tata Institute of Social Sciences supported us by conducting field interviews.
75% of the interviewed children experience school corporal punishment. 53% of children are beaten regularly by nearly every teacher. Children of migrant workers are often corporally punished by teachers on grounds of racial discrimination. The majority of children who are corporally punished by school teachers never tell their parents, mainly because the large majority of parents (73%) punish them as a result.
Hear it from the children
Praveen (name changed)
Read Story
Shaalu (name changed)
Read Story
Saurav (name changed)
Read Story
Prerit Rana
prerit@agrasar.org
We all must remember a childhood toy. That is ‘paper boat’. As soon as it started raining we used to make paper boats and float it where ever we found water. We hoped it would go far. But at times of heavy rain the kayak made of paper could not tolerate a heavy rain shower. So, simile goes here to describe a child who is as delicate as a paper boat and has just taken its first step in the hope of taking a long joyful and successful journey. How will the child be able to cross the river smiling and beaming?
