Corporal punishment to students banned

The government yesterday slapped an outright ban on indulging in physical punishment to the students at all educational institutions in the country.
An education ministry circular asked the district education officers and upazila secondary education officers to take action under the existing law along with departmental action against such misconduct.
The decision came against the backdrop of increasing number of such incidents recently.
It has been noticed that teachers of some educational institutions impose inhuman punishments on the students for various reasons including violation of discipline and negligence in study. Such news is often published in media, the circular signed by Education Secretary Syed Ataur Rahman said.
Teachers should help flourish physical and mental growth of the students and groom them up as worthy citizens, it said adding that students’ progress gets hampered due to physical punishment.

The government also directed the heads of respective educational institutions to take necessary steps to stop physical punishment. The school management committees will identify the teachers and take remedial measures to this end.
The inspectors of offices, directorates and education boards under the education ministry will observe the matter during their visits to educational institutions and are asked to mention it in their inspection reports.
Source: The Daily Star – 10.08.2010