Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson
13 August 2008
Rev. Nana Anyani Boadum, the General Overseer of the Jesus Generation Sanctuary Church and Evangelistic Ministry has criticized the use of caning in schools as a disciplinary measure.
"Striking a child at school or at home is wrong. Caning in any form is unacceptable to me. How do we measure moderation in assaulting someone physically? The educator to me has no right to touch a child; if society wants to do that, then it must have parliamentary approval as an educational policy. Do we have a national policy on that?"
He said "caning has negative developmental effects on children; it is an extension of the wrongful behaviour of the past patriarchal system of dominance which thought and believed that children and women have to be physically punished for their misdemeanors."
Caning, he said, "brings increased aggression in children; it creates in them anti-social behavours which in turn creates greater tolerance for violence because they have been subjected to that sort of violent treatment. As they grow, anytime they see violence, they can tolerate it, it becomes a sport to them."
For this reason he said, "the United Nations study on violence against children has targeted the year 2009, as the year for the universal prohibition of corporal punishment and all forms of abuses against children not only at school but at home."
Rev. Boadum said "if we are to raise academic standards in our schools, we need alternatives to physical punishment, so I suggest the training of teachers and educators in alternative discipline strategies."
He said "to replace physical punishment, there should be the need for behaviour modification and positive reinforcement that is rewarding the child for good behaviour or probing the reasons behind the childs actions."
He asked: "When a child comes to school late, do you beat the child?" The teacher, he said must find out why. "For example the child's home circumstances; the child might be living with people who are not the parents or even an orphan.
This child may be the same person who sells in the morning before he or she goes to school, the teacher must know all theses. By beating the child he misses the mark."
His criticism on the use of the cane in schools stands out against calls by some teachers asking for robust corporal punishment in schools.
A teacher who spoke to the ADM said "the other forms of punishment are time consuming, difficult to administer and do not have the desired deterrent impact on the children."
Caning, said the teacher, is the most convenient and quickest form of punishment and is feared.
He said that a total ban on the use of whips as a corrective or punitive measure might plunge the nation into producing future leaders who are deeply rooted in indiscipline.
"Enforcing discipline in schools without the use of cane would be very difficult. "The current brand of student we handle are now rebellious and disrespectful." Another teacher said "guided caning, as a form of corrective punishment, should remain".
Madam Emelia Keteku Atiemo, a parent of two sharing her views on the subject said "I am not against the total ban or calls for its abolishing, the cane must be used in schools, but reasonably"
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I believe behaviour of children in Britain has deteriorated since caning here was banned. The way I remember it being used was only for serious misdemeanours (never bad work) - particularly disrespect to teachers. The caning would only be carried out if the pupil agreed to bend over, never just lashing out - 2 to 6 strokes on a boy or 1 to 3 on a girl, though for them the thought of the cane was usually sufficient to deter them. I think the chief problem is when teachers do not use it in a controlled way. Then the punishment… [Read Full Text]