New law would not infringe on principals and teachers right to discipline: Deputy Min
View(s):The amendment to the Penal Code to stop corporal punishment of children is in keeping with the guidelines of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and due to the growing number of reports of children facing physical and mental abuse in households, Deputy Minister of Education Madhura Senevirathna said.
He said the new law would not infringe on the right of principals and teachers to discipline in schools, but is intended to safeguard children from mental and physical abuse.
He said the bill to amend the Penal Code (Chapter 19) is in the committee stage, and any amendments could be discussed before being passed by parliament. Under the amendments to the Act, a measure of punishment or correctional method, an act for which physical force is used, with knowledge that such act is likely to cause some degree of pain or discomfort however light; or non-physical act with knowledge that it is likely to cause humiliation however light, commits the offence of corporal punishment. The new bill also introduces an enhanced penalty where the offence of voluntarily causing grievous hurt is committed against a child.
The amendments have been met with concerns by teachers and principals who fear that they would be unable to discipline children if the law came into effect because a simple reprimand of a child could result in legal action against them.
However, the deputy minister said the new law is being brought as there are reports of children facing abuses in households, correction centres and abuse in schools, and hence tougher laws are needed to deal with the issue. He said this would not have an impact on schools or teachers who will have the authority to discipline students if they break the rules.
A circular issued in 2016 on dealing with discipline in schools also prohibited corporal punishment, he said. (DWI)
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