NEWLY-appointed Minister of Education Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine has declared that the abolition of corporal punishment in the nation’s schools is high on his agenda. “The environment cannot be a learning one if the problem of corporal punishment persists,” asserted Dr. Roopnaraine in a recent interview. Corporal punishment,the minister posited,serves only as a demonstration of psychological scarring; additionally,he asserted that it is time classrooms are transformed into ideal places of learning.
Further, the minister revealed that he intends to do whatever he could to adjust the relevant legislation and will, with every fibre of his being,strive to eradicate this problem from schools.
The Ministry of Education in 2007 had conducted a survey on the use of corporal punishment in schools.The survey revealed that 53% of schools use corporal punishment as a means of maintaining discipline.
Article 37 under the Rights of Children (ROC) in Guyana dictates that “No child should be subject to torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.”