Orgy of school violence triggers corporal punishment debate

Rumbidzai Mhlanga

BULAWAYO – The orgy of violence that rocked Msiteli High School in Bulawayo last week Friday, has sparked debate on whether the jettisoning of corporal punishment in schools  was the right call.

Proponents of corporal punishment were quick to associate the ugly scenes that culminated in the destruction of part of the school’s precast wall, window panes and left at least one gang member seriously injured as rival gangs viciously attacked each other using weapons.

These unfortunate developments have brought into question the wisdom or lack thereof in abolishing corporal punishment in schools.

Shocked by the brutality, some parents and teachers who spoke to Community Podium felt that pupils are taking advantage of their rights, and have therefore become a law unto themselves.

One teacher who prefers anonymity conceded his support for children’s rights but had reservations stemming from the pupils’ alleged proclivity to abuse the given rights.

“The behavior of today’s generation is worrisome. I am for the idea of letting children enjoy their rights fully but the way they are now carrying on makes it seem like enjoying these rights has opened a can of worms that has led to moral decadence of immense proportions.  We are not  sadists who enjoy beating up or punishing students but we yearn for a generation which can be corrected and controlled because without discipline, we are headed for the rocks. Schools will continue to churn out thugs that will continue to terrorise our communities.

What we see at schools is frightening and disheartening but there is nothing we can do other than watch them do as they please because as teachers, our hands are tied. It is painful as a parent to watch a child jeopardize their future because the bullying, fighting and drug abuse is projected into their future.

 I am of the opinion that the government should allow the setting up of disciplinary boards, where a board of teachers agrees on the number of strokes commensurate with the offence for the offending learner  or prescribe any other form of punishment. There should be consequences for wrong behavior such as fighting, alcohol and drug abuse,” he said.

The Chairman of Positive Parenting Zimbabwe, Mr Calvin Chauke shared the same sentiments with the aforementioned teacher  as he advocates for strict measures to  be taken against deviant learners who flout the rules. He went on to suggest a raft of measures that he feels should be taken against children who misbehave.

“The behavior of these children is unacceptable. Firstly, since students are not supposed to be beaten by teachers the school has to involve the police and the student at conflict with the law must be treated like an adult and get a chance to defend themselves in court. Likewise, those who form gangs must be treated like adult gang members and sent to correctional facilities and those found in possession of drugs should be removed and isolated from other students and sent for forced rehabilitations. Those who sell the drugs should be sentenced to stiffer, deterrent sentences.

In addition, parents should also be held  accountable for the actions of their children and pay for damages to social infrastructure..that way, we will try by all means to make sure our children are on the right path. With government’s approval, teachers should also be encouraged to correct  the perverse behavior of learners through punishment and spanking within reason,” said Mr Chauke.

Matebeleland Institute for Human Rights, Coordinator, Mr Khumbulani Maphosa said there is nothing wrong with students enjoying their rights but stressed that rights must come with responsibility.

“It is a double edged sword. Some people may look at it and say the prohibition of corporal punishment in schools is contributing to this errant behavior of children but I do not agree with that. When we removed corporal punishment as a disciplining tool in our schools, we did not enforce the concept of responsibilities. Rights go with responsibilities. In order to protect the rights of children, we removed corporal punishment and we had people go to schools teaching them about their rights but then we neglected to reinforce the idea of responsibilities amongst the young people, to show them that they could enjoy rights within the confines of responsibility and the law.

Unfortunately the consequences are now manifesting in schools even though the problem does not lie with schools but the families where these children come from because the family is the most important unit of socialization. Lack of responsibility emanates from homes. Parents are no longer playing their role to instill discipline in children. By instilling discipline we are not only talking about beatings, it is also about socialization and social education of the children,” said Maphosa.

In Zimbabwe, corporal punishment had been widely used as a form of discipline in schools before it was outlawed in 2017 by a High Court ruling that declared article 60(2) (c) of the Educational Act unconstitutional.