A Gujarat Teacher's Viral Video Raises Questions Over Corporal Punishment
A video of a school in Gujarat is going viral on social media where a teacher can be seen brutally beating a student. The incident was captured on the classroom CCTV camera, and a debate has now started about whether physical punishment for students is acceptable or not.
The incident took place in Madhav Public School in Ahmedabad’s eastern region. The CCTV footage shows that a mathematician teacher Abhishek Patel dragged a student, threw him to the wall, and hit him brutally. Reportedly, the teacher has been suspended after students reported the cruelity in the classroom.
अहमदाबाद की प्राइवेट स्कूल में एक छात्र को बहेरमी से पीटते हुए शिक्षक का वीडियो सोशल मीडिया में वायरल हुआ
वायरल वीडियो में देखा जा सकता है कि छात्र पर शिक्षक इतना गुस्सा हो जाता है की वो उसे एक के बाद एक 10 तमाचे मार देता है…… pic.twitter.com/zCUXFmM3mZ
— Brijesh Doshi (@brijdoshi) October 1, 2024
Corporal punishment of students in schools is not permitted. The Right To Education Act 2009 under section 17 (1) prohibits that no child shall be treated with any physical punishment or mental harassment. NCPCR has also issued guidelines to eliminate corporal punishments against children. Every school is required to develop a mechanism and frame protocols to address the grievances of students.
Read also: Kerala To Prepare Over 8 Lakh School Students For UG Entrance Exams.
Every school must constitute a ‘Corporal Punishment Monitoring Cell’ consisting of two teachers, two parents, one doctor, one lawyer (nominated by DLSA), a counselor, an independent child rights activist of that area, and two senior students from that school. This CPMC shall look into complaints of corporal punishments.
Despite the rules and laws being in place, these incidents keep on resurfacing. Some teachers justify that some students behave in a very indiscipline way and to improve their class performance teachers are forced to inflict some degree of physical harm. However, today’s parents oppose physical punishment in schools. The question remains whether discipline and school performance can be inculcated through physical punishment or if some other policy measures are necessary for the student’s benefit.
