Currently, the Ministry of Education is involved in a national consultation on

whether corporal punishment in our school system should be retained or abolished and from all reports these engagements have received positive responses from both parents and teachers.
The Ministry should be lauded for engaging in such a participatory approach to a controversial issue in our society. Perhaps this could be a model to follow when other controversial issues arise not only within the education sector but for other sectors as well.
The response to the matter at these consultations across the country has seen a mixed reaction with some supporting retention of corporal punishment while others feel it should be abolished. This is hardly surprising because of the history and culture associated with this issue. Increasingly, corporal punishment is being abolished across the globe.
Corporal punishment is banned in most of the western world, including every country in Europe, Japan, South Africa and New Zealand, among many other countries.
Conversely, some advanced countries in Asia still use it, including Singapore and South Korea. In Australia, corporal punishment in schools is banned, partially or completely.
Corporal punishment was made illegal in all state schools in the United Kingdom in 1986 and this ban was extended to include independent schools in 1996.
So it would seem that the so-called modern trend favours banning of corporal punishment. On the other hand, corporal punishment is common in Africa and India. It is also still permitted in 20 States in the U.S., and of all 20 states, Ohio is the only one that requires schools to honour parental requests not to use corporal punishment.
Admittedly, there is a strong case for the abolishment of corporal punishment because of the physical and emotional pain it causes. And there is a tendency to blindly follow the policies of other countries, particularly those of the advanced countries.
This is where the danger lies because what may be effective in one society may not necessarily be effective in others.
In this regard, the big question that needs to be answered definitively is whether  discipline has improved or declined in the school system in those societies where corporal punishment has been abolished.
From all indications it would appear that discipline in the school system in those countries has drastically declined and teachers are having an extremely testing time in maintaining discipline at an acceptable level.
Another important consideration should be the issue of timing. Many times progressive and meritorious policies fail because people and the society are simply not ready for it because of history, culture and several other complex psychological and sociological factors.
So we need to have a definitive answer to the question of whether the Guyanese society is ready for that quantum leap change.
History has shown that very often when changes are drastic the end result is adverse and other negative spin-offs develop.
On this note one of our letter writers, Neil Adams, who is a teacher, made an interesting observation: “A Guyanese family and their son journeyed to the United States for ‘the better life’. He was enrolled in school as any normal child, however, as the teenage years rolled in he got caught up with the American culture of foolishness and was in the business of gangs, breaking and entering into peoples’ homes and the dreaded drug culture. Things got so bad that the family barely survived two drive-by shootings. That was the final straw. Something had to be done with this boy. The Guyanese parents who were brought up in a different culture, where a child, except if he is mentally or physically challenged, when in such a mode needs a good old Guyanese “cut a…” and that’s what they administered to him. The boy knowing “his rights” under American law, called the cops who quickly moved in and arrested the parent. After paying a fine, the family was not comfortable with either the fact that they cannot touch the boy nor can they live peaceably, always having to look over their shoulders due to this boy’s reckless living. They finally decided to take him back to Guyana to be reformed. When they landed at Timehri the father gently tapped him on the shoulder and said: “hey buddy you in Guyana where we does cut a**, try that thing you tried in the States.”
Now, you would believe that the rebellious teen would now be subjected to all brutal forms of punishment to bring him in line. Well, that was not the case. That teenager was never touched or given “corporal punishment” while in Guyana. The mere thought of what awaited him caused him to make a 180 degree turnaround. He is now back in the U.S., nearing completion of his degree in Economics.”
It is clear that the issue of abolishment of corporal punishment is not a simple and straightforward issue. Therefore, the matter must be given a long and hard look to ascertain all the ramifications before any decision is taken, one way or the other. But in arriving at the decision, focus must not be lost on the most crucial issue, and that is, whether the result could be a further break-down in discipline in our schools.