Dear Editor,
I am concerned after hearing of an incident at the Christ Church Secondary school last week, where a young student was beaten with a cane after the principal was told that he climbed over the school’s fence.
While I do not condone students disobeying school rules and agree that consequences are justified in this case, I was very surprised and saddened to learn that corporal punishment is still administered in Guyana’s schools.
Are senior teachers still allowed to beat students in schools? If this is so, no good can come from this. In making the beating of students an acceptable way to solve problems and express displeasure, we are sending the wrong message to our young people. They are learning from those in authority that physical violence is acceptable if the perpetrator can justify their actions towards the victim.
Our teachers must be retrained and given more strategies to address discipline in our schools. Our young people deserve more.
My heart goes out to this young man, and to others who have to endure, beatings at school. There are many more effective ways to deal with such situations.
If corporal punishment is still legal in our schools, I appeal to the Minister and other leaders in education to work towards abolishing this archaic and barbaric practice.
As a people, we can do better.
Yours faithfully,
J.P. Richmond
