The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) will recommend stricter implementation of its policy against corporal punishment in schools across the country. This will figure in its report on the incident of a child committing suicide in a school here, officials told The Hindu on Monday.
An NCPCR team was here last week to probe the incident of a student of a renowned school committing suicide in February. His father lodged a complaint with the police on June 7, alleging that the principal along with four teachers had meted out corporal punishment to the boy, driving him to suicide.
“The school does have a policy of disciplining students by caning and other means and the authorities defended it. We will make recommendations to stop corporal punishment at this school in particular and schools across the country as well,” said B.K. Sahu, Registrar of NCPCR, who was a member of the team investigating the incident.
The team is yet to finalise the report, which will be submitted in a couple of days. It will recommend the suspension of the principal and the teachers concerned, Mr. Sahu added.
The connection between the punishment given to the boy and his suicide will have to be investigated by the police. The Detective Department of the Kolkata police has been conducting the investigations.
Irrespective of whether the punishment led to suicide, corporal punishment cannot be condoned, Mr. Sahu said.
“The Commission has clearly stated that corporal punishment should not be used as a tool for disciplining students,” Mr. Sahu said.
