Death of pupil stirs controversy over corporal punishment

Should corporal punishment be allowed in schools? Some people would argue that when you spare the rod; you spoil the child. 

The death of a 12-year-old pupil of a secondary school in Awka, Anambra State, Miss Chidinma Ukachukwu, after being allegedly flogged by her teacher for failing to do her homework, came as a shock to many readers.

But that would not be the first time children were being beaten to death either by their teachers or parents/guardians. Some months ago, 34-year-old Becklin Okoro allegedly beat his wife, Esther Uremure, and flogged his five-year old daughter, Bethel to death. 

There was another report of an 11-year-old boy who was allegedly flogged to death by his father for disobedience. It was gathered that the suspect, Friday Obot, flogged the victim, Michael Friday, with a cable wire.

There are several unreported cases of pupils injured or deformed after being flogged. While for instance Lagos State Government has already placed a ban on flogging in schools; some schools still engage in the act.

Despite the ban on flogging in Lagos schools, our correspondent observed that some public schools still engage in flogging their pupils. However, the question now is to what extent should a child be disciplined?

A lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, Anambra State University, Dr. Chineye Nwabueze, said “Flogging cannot and should not be removed from our society. We are not living in the United States. We are Africans.  It’s a disservice to the nation if there should be a ban on flogging.  However, it is only when flogging is done to the extreme that a ban could be placed.

“There are some children that are stubborn and therefore need to be dealt with. I believe we could change the word ‘flogging’ if need be. We live in a society where corporal punishment cannot be removed.  Such punishment is an act of equipping the children,” he said.

Nwabueze said there are three institutions under which a child is moulded. He identified them as –family, church and school. “Each of these institutions has its style of discipline. In schools, flogging happens to be one of the best methods for discipline.  Mere cautioning a child is not enough.  Flogging saved some of us. We are what we are today because of the few whips we received.’’

A former principal, Mrs. Modupe Jegede, who was in the education sector for over 30 years, said that there were other ways to discipline children aside flogging.

Speaking with our correspondent, Jegede said, “First, a teacher should not flog a child in annoyance. That teacher who flogged Chidinma may have done so in annoyance. I believe flogging should be the last resort. There are several ways to punish a child.

“However, these children could be threatened with beating when they commit an offence. Mere seeing a cane would make them refrain from their wrong acts. We have had so many cases of children who were deformed and maimed after being flogged. As an educationist, you should be able to correct a child without necessarily using the cane. You could ask them to kneel or stand at the back of the class. Also correcting them at school assembly in front of their mates makes them feel ashamed. A teacher should be able to exercise discipline without using a cane,” she said.

Jegede said that it was important for teachers to restrain their anger especially when correcting a child. She said so many parents who had inflicted scars on their children or caused deformity in them were presently living in regret.

A public school teacher, Mr. Akinpelu Olukunmi, said the location of a school is a determinant factor as to whether flogging should be permitted. He added that he does not see any reason why flogging should not be permitted in a school.

He said, “In my school for example, there is just no way a child would listen to you unless you flog him or her. Even if you shout on top of your voice or scold pupils in my school, they would not listen to you. But immediately they see your cane, they will behave themselves. Some children are stubborn and should be flogged.”

Olukunmi, however, said there are other punishments teachers could use to correct children. “You could ask the naughty ones to wear a garment. By the time you make them move around in garments all day, the following day, they would behave. Or you could ask them to pick up dirts in the school premises. It all depends on the teacher. The teacher should use the method that suits him or her most.

“However, my prayer is that the education system in Nigeria gets better. And parents also have a role to play in building the character of their children,” he said.

The National Director, Family Impact Nigeria, Mr. Tunde Fowe, said that educators must realise that punishment as a consequence of wrong-doing and/or defiance should be commensurate with the offence committed.

He said, “To adopt flogging as the one tool that corrects every perceived wrong-doing is both unhelpful and a lazy response to a critical need. The educator’s goal is to discipline and not to instil fear, cause isolation or break the esteem of the child. If that is the goal, personal interaction and instruction should be the priority. In the event of a wilful wrong-doing, the educator should determine the appropriate punishment that is proportionate to the offence committed. In my opinion, flogging should be the ultimate means of punishment. And even at that, it requires a process that makes it meaningful.

“Having established that flogging should be the ultimate punishment for an ultimate offence, it then follows that it should be used sparingly and infrequently. In the event that the educator decides that flogging is the appropriate punishment for a wilful act of wrong-doing, care must be taken to explain to the child or adolescent the reason for the flogging. Under no circumstance should an educator flog a child or adolescent out of anger or annoyance. If that happens, then it is child abuse.

“Flogging is an ultimate instrument to bring the child or adolescent back in line on a journey towards good behaviour; it is not and cannot be an instrument to vent the anger or frustration of the educator on the child. If this happens, then the educator is guilty of child abuse. Let it be noted also that if flogging, either well intended or not, brings physical harm to the child or adolescent, the one who flogs is guilty of instrumental aggression. Educators should be aware of their limits under the Child Rights Act. Flogging then, if it must be done at all, should be carried out under a controlled atmosphere aimed at the good of the child and not to assuage the pent-up anger of the one who flogs,” he said.

A Citizens Rights and Empowerment Advocacy Initiative, a non-governmental human rights advocacy group, which adherently condemned the killing of Chidinma, has called for the establishment of Citizens Rights Club in all schools across the federation to enlighten both teachers and pupils on human rights  and promote the need to ensure respect for each other’s right.

The President of the Group, Mr.  Rex Saltlove, said, “The teachers are important instrument for nation building and must be treated as special species due to the nature of their job. They are the ones that shape the lives of their pupils from the cradle and must not be neglected in the interest of human capital development.

“We therefore call on governments at all levels to urgently design special empowerment programme for dedicated teachers. This will go a long way in reducing incidents like this one, which mostly is as a result of misplaced aggression induced by poverty in many homes,” he said.