While the focus has extensively been on child sexual abuse in recent years, what might have gone under the radar are cases of corporal punishment in schools. Although courts and the government have categorically been stating that corporal punishment of all forms is banned, experts argue that legal provisions against corporal punishment need to be strengthened.
Presently, cases can be booked under Section 23 of Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, 2000, and Section 17 of Right of Children to Free and compulsory Education Act. While JJ Act stipulates a maximum punishment of up to six months, RTE Act only recommends disciplinary action. The only cases to attract a stringent punishment are those booked under the relevant Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections.
A study ‘Child Abuse in India – 2007’, by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, found that two out of three schoolchildren said they faced corporal punishment.
Kusum Jain, president of the Parents’ Forum for meaningful education, whose fight against corporal punishment saw it being banned in 2000, said that there was no strong legal provision exclusively dealing with corporal punishment.
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also issued ‘Guidelines for eliminating corporal punishment in schools’.
