Deosaran not pushing for licks in school

INDEPENDENT SENATOR, Prof Ramesh Deosaran, yesterday dismissed media reports which claimed that he was advocating the return of corporal punishment in schools as a measure to restore order and discipline there. In an open letter, Deosaran said the re-introduction of any kind of corporal punishment in the nation’s schools was a decision for teachers and parents, not a professional researcher such as himself, and he never advocated such. Quoting from a report which he wrote about school violence and delinquency, Deosaran said, “The policy of corporal punishment be more fully discussed with the teachers and parents; and with some emphasis placed on alternative forms of student control.

The teachers and students we consulted, almost unanimously (that is two out of 245) supported the practice of corporal punishment in schools.  As some teachers explained, the deterrent effect of corporal punishment is not that ‘it will be used or abused, but the mere threat of it being used.’”