The alleged thrashing up of a UKG student by his teacher for failure to do homework at a private school at Vaddadi in Butchayyapeta mandal in the district and the beating up of Intermediate students of a private college at Nandigama in Krishna district indicate the disturbing trend in the education system.
“These incidents reflect the mounting pressure not only on students and parents but also on the teachers from their managements to secure results or ranks for their institutions and stress due to lack of proper salaries,” says M.V.R. Raju, a Professor in the Psychology Department.
In the first instance, the student had, no doubt, failed in her duty by not performing the task assigned to her.
One can even reason that it is difficult for teachers to deal with 40 or 50 children, some of whom could be stubborn.
But how can a teacher beat a five-year-old girl so inhumanly causing a mild fracture?
The girl’s father reportedly said that beating of children for frivolous reasons was happening frequently at that school.
District Educational Officer G. Nagamani ordered an inquiry into the incident and issued a stern warning to the managements of ‘de-recognition’ of their schools, if, there were instances of corporal punishment.
Coming to the second case, the junior college lecturer was caught on camera beating teenage boys black and blue after making them stand in a row. The teacher was, perhaps, inspired by the idiom: ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’.
“Our studies have revealed that there are at least five children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) for every 40 students. Unfortunately, neither parents nor teachers recognise the problem and most of them are not even aware that such children can be affected by such problems,” says Prof. Raju.
“The lack of awareness about problems like ADHD can make teachers jump to the conclusion that their students defying their orders. Sometimes, ADHD-affected children disturb normal children during the class and the latter may be punished by the teacher. Situations like these can have tremendous impact on their psyche and impact their learning process.”
“Parents thrusting their career choices on their children, admitting them in residential schools and colleges and asking the teachers to beat their child, in a bid to discipline them, are also causing undue stress among the students,” Prof. Raju adds.
