Unicef Malaysia calls for ban on corporal punishment in schools
KUALA LUMPUR, Tues:The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) Malaysia has called for aban on corporal punishment in schools as it harms children and damagestheir education.
Unicef representative in Malaysia, Youssouf Oomar said Unicef believedthat corporal punishment should be abolished because it was abusive andineffective.
“It also infringes on the right to education. The United NationsConvention on the Rights of the Child prohibits the use of cruel,inhuman, or degrading treatment, regardless of circumtances,” he saidin a statement on the second anniversary of the UN World Report onViolence Against Children, today.
According to the report, hesaid, lessons in violence had little positive disciplinary value,teaching students that violence was an acceptable solution when dealingwith problems.
He said the report also stated that a formulaof scoldings, beatings and other physical and psychological punishmentsended with students feeling angry and humilliated.
“There is little value for the child or the community asstudents who experience violence become withdrawn from academic pursuitand less motivated to succeed,” he said.
The World report was conducted through five years of intensiveconsultation including nine regional consultations involvinggovernments, civil society, children; thematic consulations withrelevant experts; field visits; as well as questionnaires to 133governments, including Malaysia.
The report said childrenmore often than not experienced violence at the hands of the veryindividuals responsible for protecting them and schools were cited asone such location where children experienced violence, both from theirteachers in the form of corporal punishments as well as from theirpeers in the form of bullying.
“Corporal punishment erodesstudents’ trust in their teachers and their schools. It can lead tostudents feeling disrespectful and angry toward their educators. Italso negates a child’s capacity to respond to reason,” said Youssouf.
He said in Malaysia, corporal punishment in schools was generallyviewed as disciplinary action to control students who misbehave.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/NewsBreak/20081007192844/Article/index_html
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