A student of Class six being brutally beaten up by the vice principal of a private school in city on Wednesday is the latest among the series of cases of violence in school being faced by children. Over the years, a number of cases have come to light in which the children were subjected to torture in the school in form of corporal punishment across the State, one of the major cases being death of 7 year old Sujit Munda of Chanho block of Ranchi who succumbed to the beatings of his school teacher in the year 2014.

A few other cases include a class one student of Giridih being beaten up with a cane by the class teacher of a private school for playing in the classroom on August 31, 2018. In February 2018, principal of a school in Chaibasa was booked for burning the hands of seven students by forcing them to put their hands on candle flame.

Despite corporal punishment being prohibited in the schools under section 17 (1) of Right to Education Act, a number of incidents are still being reported from schools of Jharkhand on a regular basis.

Treasurer cum convener, corporal punishment, South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children (SAIEVAC), Sanjay Mishra said, “The teachers either do not know the law or think that they are above it. Both the cases are dangerous for the children. Teachers lack the sensitivity they should have towards children.”

He added, “A few cases come to light if the parents are aware but in most of the cases parents themselves do not know that such brutality is illegal. While cases in the capital come to light, most of the cases in the interior areas go unreported.”

Mishra served as a member of Jharkhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (JSCPCR) from 2012 to 2015. “During this time I dealt with at least 25-30 cases of corporal punishments every month. There was a case in one of the reputed private schools of the city where a student committed suicide after being beaten up in front of the entire school,” he said.

Psychiatrists claim that resorting to corporal punishment leads to the child losing confidence in him or herself. Senior consultant Neuro psychiatrist at Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences (RINPAS), Dr. Siddharth Sinha said, “When in today's world a child is already facing so much stress be it the competition among peers or scoring good marks, one should refrain from talking to them in a manner which can be harsh, let alone hitting them. The mental trauma in such cases goes unchecked and creates a deep hole in the self confidence and self respect of the child."

Dr.Sinha pointed out that corporal punishment often affects the studies of children as the child develops aversion towards schooling module, thus leading to a decline in his or her academic performance. "If a teacher is not able to instill confidence in a child or demean a child in any way, they have failed as a teacher as their responsibility is not just teaching the children particular subjects but also making them persons with good character who can face the world with courage when they grow up," he said.

Chairperson of Ranchi Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Rupa Kumari informed that they deal with at least two-three cases of corporal punishment every week. "Either the case comes directly to us or we take suo moto if we get to know about it from any source. The parents now fear the well being of their children in school premise," she said.

Kumari pointed out that parents are still not aware that a body like CWC exists where they can take such grievances and get justice. "Children also do not come out openly if they face corporal punishment because many a times if they complain, the concerned teacher starts bullying them on a regular basis," she said.

Talking about how to put an end to corporal punishment Kumari said, "There is a need of a strong mechanism where people fear about the consequences of torturing children. Putting an end to corporal punishment is a collective effort. CWC can take legal action but it is also the responsibility of the schools, parents and the society to ensure that the children are safe," she said.

Meanwhile, Mishra claimed that SAEIVAC is planning to organize workshops in government and private schools of the State to sensitize teachers about the RTE Act. "At present, not many schools have a monitoring system. Our plan is to ensure that every school should have an RTE related grievance management cell where a child can talk about their problem," he said.

(This report is a part of NFI Media Awards 2019)