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Education News

by “competent authorities for any lapse, dereliction or THEY SAID IT
negligence”.
“This directive of the high court is overdue. Regret- “The protests are a product of that suffocat-
tably, corporal punishment is more frequent in govern- ing sense of thwarted political agency that
ment schools, compared to private institutions. Strict a lot of young people feel... The students are,
implementation of these guidelines will create safer and perhaps inchoately, attempting that work
more nurturing learning environments, which is es- of moral repair.”
sential for effective learning and well-being of children.
This stern directive sets clear standards for educational Pratap Bhanu Mehta, former president, Centre Policy
Research, on pro-Palestinian student protests at
institutions and authorities to follow, and mandates US university campuses (Indian Express, April 24)
strict adherence to child protection laws,” says Chennai-
based educationist Dr. S. Somasundaram.
With the rising number of student suicides and “The share of youth with secondary and
stress-related mental disorders among children rou- high-school education who are unem-
tinely reported by the media, Justice Subramaniam’s ployed has increased from 35.2 percent in
directive with special emphasis on teachers and educa- 2000 to 65.7 percent in 2022.”
tion officials to “protect” children’s mental health and Ajay Chhibber, co-author Unshackling India,
well-being has been widely welcomed by bona fide presenting an agenda for the next government
educationists. (Business Standard, April 26)
“It’s important that
District Education “The Act has faced three broad challenges.
Authorities and educa- First, at the administrative level, there has
tion ministry officials been a noticeable increase in harassment
impact the importance and evictions of street vendors, despite
of the NCPCR guidelines the Act’s emphasis on their protection and
on government and regulation.”
rural schools in par-
ticular. In government Aravind Unni, urban practitioner-researcher &
schools, where parental Shalini Sinha, Asia strategist at the Urban Policies
Program, WIEGO, on implementation of the Street
involvement is usually Vendors Act 2014 (The Hindu, May 1)
lower, there is general Dr. S. Somasundaram
acceptance of corpo- “Five high courts – Allahabad, Punjab and
ral punishment. In private schools, parents are more Haryana, Gujarat, Bombay and Calcutta –
engaged in their children’s education, and this works have reportedly 171 vacancies as of April 1,
as a deterrent against corporal punishment and mental
cruelty. They operate under stricter regulations and 2024, accounting for over 52 percent of total
are mindful of their reputation as enlightened institu- vacancies of 327 posts in 25 high courts.
tions. They also tend to allocate substantial resources Sanctioned strength of judges across all
towards alternative disciplinary measures and teacher high courts is 1,114, and 29.4 percent of posi-
training programs to promote supportive environments tions are vacant.”
conducive to joyful learning. Nevertheless it’s high time Editorial titled ‘Fix the judicial supply-demand gap’
a clear and unambiguous message goes out to all school (The Economic Times, May 4)
managements, teachers and parents that corporal
punishment and mental cruelty imposed on children “The Prime Minister’s tirade against the
is obsolete pedagogy. Children learn best in conducive Opposition and the minority community
stress-free environments,” says A. Karuppasamy, only shows that he has no positive issues to
former director of Matriculation schools. persuade them to vote for him. His state-
However while the high court directive to school ments clearly fall foul of the Model Code of
managements and educators to abolish corporal punish- Conduct and also amount to corrupt prac-
ment is clear and unambiguous, implementing it in gov-
ernment and private schools — especially in rural Tamil tice as declared by the Supreme Court… If
Nadu — where most teachers and illiterate parents he ceases to be the role model, nothing will
adamantly believe to spare the rod is to spoil the child, be left of our great democracy.”
will take some doing. Dushyant Dave, senior advocate (The Hindu, May 6)
Shivani Chaturvedi (Chennai)

30 EDUCATIONWORLD MAY 2024