Corporal Punishment

The CBSE Board has always held the view that every child is a potential human resource and asset to the country and it is the duty of the educational institutions to provide the right ambience and climate to the learners to develop and enrich their latent talents. Education is a holistic process which facilitates the total development of personality. The tools and methods adopted to impart education should, therefore address the above objectives. To develop as a creative human being, the individual should learn in an atmosphere free from fear. Psychological experiments do substantiate the view that fear negates creativity.

The concept of punishment has always nursed a sense of fear and learning does not occur in a fear-prone environment. It is therefore imperative that schools should adopt such methods by which the learner develops a sense of self-confidence and self-dependence. On certain occasions, when the behaviour and attitude of the students are not acceptable, it is important to find out the reasons for such errant behaviour and counsel them appropriately rather than to punish them straight away.

The CBSE Board has been concerned about the use of corporal punishment in schools. The CBSE Board believes that here is no scope for such punishments in the learning environment and the teachers should adopt strategies by which the learner realizes one’s mistake, if any, rather than face a corporal punishment by the institution. Love reinforces confidence and once the learner believes that the school atmosphere is permeating with love from the teachers, they will desist from indulging any acts that would negate the environment that has been built. Corporal punishments are therefore to be avoided at any cost in the school

It is therefore requested that the Heads of institutions should bring home the above points to the attention of all the teachers in their school and ensure that no child is subjected to any corporal punishment at any point of time in the schooling process. The Heads of institutions should organize meetings of the staff and convey to them the suggestions and instructions of the CBSE Board in this regard.