Dear Editor,
Full abolition of corporal punishment of children in schools and homes has been confirmed in the western European country of Luxembourg. This makes Luxembourg the 25th country to de-institutionalize the abomination of corporal punishment in all settings.
In August of this year, the Indian government enacted the Right to Education Act 2009, which prohibits all forms of physical punishment of school children, and provides for disciplinary action against teachers who breach the prohibition. The proportion of the world’s school population protected by law from corporal punishment is now 61%, compared with 41% before the new Indian law. The complete ban of school corporal punishment in India follows the ban in schools in the Indian states of Orissa (2004), Himachal Pradesh (2007), Uttar Pradesh (2007), Tamil Nadu (2007), Haryana (2007) and Assam (2009).
Recently, in Jamaica, the Minister of Education said that the “government will be looking to enact legislation to ban the use of corporal punishment in schools in the next legislative year.” (‘No more beatings! Holness commits to ending corporal punishment – Boy’s hand broken in latest teacher-abuse allegation,’ http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/ gleaner/20091211/lead/lead1.html)
The corporal punishment of children in schools is now illegal in 109 countries.
Yours faithfully,
M. Xiu Quan-Balgobind-Hackett
