Corporal punishment causes hatred, fear among students
Psychologist tells view exchange meeting
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid speaks at a view exchange meeting at the Teachers Training College auditorium in the city yesterday. On his right are Noman ur Rashid, writer Selina Hossain and Prof Dr Shamim F Karim and on his left are AKM Abdul Awal Majumdar and Nazrul Islam Khan.Photo: STAR
Corporal punishment on students in the name of discipline at schools causes different types of emotional outbursts like hatred, anger, fear, anxiety and depression in the long run, said a psychologist at a meeting yesterday. ''Excessive physical torture often lead to drug addiction. The torture sometimes turns so unbearable that children choose to commit suicide for relief,” said Prof Dr Shamim F Karim of the Department of Psychology of Dhaka University. Corporal punishment and mental torture cause students to lose self-esteem and become reluctant to attend school, one of the factors leading to drop outs, he said. Representatives from Unicef, Unesco, PID of Mymensingh, madrasa board and relevant organisations participated in the view exchange meeting to finalise the draft on Training Manual for Teachers to Stop Physical and Mental Torture on Students of Primary and Secondary. Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) and Ministry of Education jointly organised the meeting at Teachers Training Institute in the city. Prof Taslima Begum, director (training) of DSHE, briefly read out the manual. Emphasising on activity-based training, speakers said such training would help teachers understand and remember techniques to handle students. Secretary of Primary and Mass Education Ministry AKM Abdul Awal Majumdar said guardians pressurise students for outstanding result, which is also a kind of torture and should be addressed. Mentioning an incident with his relative, teacher of a government school, who was asked to pay bribe for a transfer appeal, he said, “How could we expect teachers not to torture students when they themselves have to face such ordeals.'' ''We should change our perspectives to stop corporal punishments in schools. You cannot discipline mischievous students by punishing them,” said Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid. Personal Secretary to prime minister Nazrul Islam Khan and writer Selina Hossain spoke at the programme with DSHE Director General Prof Noman ur Rashid in the chair.
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