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Mauritius: Children need boundaries
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L'Express (Port Louis)
4 December 2007
Posted to the web 4 December 2007
Alain Jeannot
Port Louis
One of the resolutions passed by the Malaysian National Seminar on Education Regulations (Student Discipline) 2007 held last month, was the introduction of caning for girls to curb indiscipline at school.
The three day seminar attended by 500 elected representatives, ministry officials, members of parent teachers associations and religious group leaders have concluded that girls' misdeeds are as serious as their male counterparts and need to be addressed in a similar way.
In fact the rod is lawfully used to curb indiscipline in Malaysian schools. In Johor state alone 1,264 students received one stroke of the cane while 617 earned either two or three strokes in 2003. Girls who were spared from that corporal punishment might not remain so for long if the regulations are implemented by next year.
The caning system is well regulated and used as a last resort. "In Penang, for instance quarrelling with educators and class captains tops the list of offences for which culprits could earn up to 30 demerit points which would lead to three cane strokes.Gambling, vandalism, dealing with pornographic materials and eating in class behaviours are considered as demerit point worth offences .10 points would lead to one cane stroke or a severe advice while an accumulation of up to 40 points would outside the corporal punishment also involve contacting responsible parties for counselling sessions!!"
In a globalised world where the rod is legally banned, it is understandable that this new resolution is leading to a surge of polemics in the media. Discordant voices pretend for example that if the rod was once effective in a given social setting, it is now completely obsolete and might even have an adverse effect. It might even be turned into a plus for hard to crack young ringleaders!
Yet, a recent article published in times online issue entitled "African cane tames unruly British pupils" reports how "Scores of British school children are being sent away to take their GCSEs in Ghana, exchanging truancy and gang culture for traditional teaching and strong discipline, including the cane". In such schools as Faith Montessori British students agree discipline in Africa can be tough but also see their lives changing for
the better.
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Please do not get me wrong. I am not making an apology forcorporal punishment; I would be the first one to frown if my kids were given a caning at school. Yet, I believe children need boundaries set by rules and punishment! Hence, there should be alternatives to corporal punishment to highlight these boundaries. These would underpin in a firm way the difference between right and wrong when this is still not understood through softer methods.
Children who behave correctly cannot be treated the same way as their unruly counterparts; this is absolutely absurd and forfeits all the rules of nature itself where the system of reward and punishment is always present.
Guess we all ought to think about it seriously, especially as we approach Christmas .Are those who misbehave to be showered with as many presents as those who are good? You parents are now to decide
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