Child Rights panel asks Chennai Corporation to prevent corporal punishment in schools

Following allegations of corporal punishment successful Chennai Corporation schools, Tamil Nadu State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (TNSCPCR) has written to Chennai Corporation to instrumentality measures to prohibit corporal punishment, safeguard carnal wellness and beforehand intelligence well-being of students.

Chennai Corporation has directed teachers of each the 418 schools to safeguard carnal and intelligence well-being of the students. At slightest 1.3 lakh students person been connected the rolls of the schools. The civic assemblage has planned to commencement a thrust to sensitise teachers to the ill-effects of corporal punishment. According to teachers of Chennai Corporation, a teacher has been suspended pursuing allegations of corporal punishment astatine school.  

Councillors person stressed the request for creating a harmless situation for students successful schools. Councillor G.V.Nagavalli, who is subordinate of the GCC Standing Committee for Education, said the committee would sermon the contented of corporal punishment, to make the situation harmless astatine schoolhouse for students. 

Residents have requested the civic body to signifier monitoring committees to cheque corporal punishment successful schools successful each ward. T.K.Shanmugham, president of the Federation of North Chennai Residents Welfare Associations said monitoring committees should beryllium constituted to forestall corporal punishment. 

AIADMK Councillor J.John said astir of the parents person been sensitised astir corporal punishment astatine schools. “The impermanent teachers successful Chennai Corporation schools look to deficiency the quality to sensitise students, and usher them. They are paid lone ₹18000 portion imperishable authorities teachers get a wage of much than a lakh. We request imperishable teachers. The intelligence well-being of teachers is besides important arsenic we prohibit corporal punishment,” helium said.

Vanessa Peter, founder, IRCDUC (Information and Resource Centre for Deprived Urban Communities) said: “Many children studying successful Chennai’s schools travel from low-income oregon informal settlements and families facing aggregate socio-economic vulnerabilities. Our interactions with these children uncover that they person experienced stigma, carnal punishment, intelligence harassment, and verbal abuse, linked to their spot of residence and background. Over the years, we person identified respective out-of-school children who garbage to proceed oregon re-enrol successful the aforesaid schoolhouse owed to fearfulness of corporal punishment, peculiarly intelligence harassment. It is indispensable to instrumentality the Guidelines for the Elimination of Corporal Punishment successful Schools (GECP), 2024, to guarantee that proactive measures are taken to make harmless and nurturing learning environments for each students. Structured sensitivity grooming for teachers and schoolhouse unit should beryllium institutionalised, and children who necessitate further enactment indispensable beryllium provided with counselling, world assistance, and a caring situation — alternatively than being blamed oregon marginalised.”