Ministry to cancel school's licence

Sonia Sarkar / TNN / Sep 30, 2007, 04:29 IST

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The ministry of women and child development has vowed to cancel the licence of the school in which a six-year-old girl was allegedly asked to strip in front of classmates because she had forgotten to do her homework.

NEW DELHI: The ministry of women and child development has vowed to cancel the licence of the west Delhi school in which a six-year-old girl was allegedly asked to strip in front of classmates because she had forgotten to do her homework on Friday.
Both the Ministry and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which had recently issued a directive to chief secretaries of all states, barring school authorities from even calling students "stupid" or "mindless", have condemned the incident as "barbaric" and "heinous".This was nothing short of child abuse, they said.
"We will get the licence of the school cancelled for committing such a heinous crime. This is sexual and emotional abuse of the child," said Lovleen Kacker, joint secretary of the ministry, which is coming out with a bill to ensure that schools compensate children if they are subjected to corporal punishment.
In August this year, NCPCR had directed chief secretaries of all states to ensure that no child is asked to kneel down or is even called "stupid" or "mindless". The teacher may be put behind bars for doling out such punishments, it said. According to the directive, corporal punishment involved, "Rapping on the knuckles, running on the school ground, kneeling down for hours, standing up for long hours, beaten with a ruler, pinched and slapped, child sexual abuse, torture, locking up children alone in classrooms, electric shock and all other acts leading to insult, physical and mental injury, and even death."

If Friday’s incident is any indication, schools are not taking this directive seriously. Said NCPCR chairperson Shanta Sinha: "This is barbaric. No one has the right to outrage the modesty of a child. We will write a letter to the state government regarding the details of the case."
In its directive, the commission had also directed the states to spread awareness among children and have complaint boxes put up on school premises so that kids can convey their grievances without any fear.

Asked if the Delhi government had responded to the directive, Sinha said: "They asked for our consultation on how they can implement this effectively. Meanwhile, we are also constituting a working group to formulate strategies and find out a long-term solution. We also need to monitor kids at the individual level."
Psychiatrists warn that incidents of corporal punishment may leave a permanent scar on the child’s mind and affect his/her growth. "Friday’s incident involves all three kinds of abuse — physical, mental and sexual. The child has gone through emotional trauma and this may affect her sense of self-esteem and self-image. This is a vulnerable age when kids start forming opinions and this humiliation may have an adverse effect," said Dr Jitendra Nagpal, consultant psychiatrist, VIMHANS.
sonia.sarkar@timesgroup.com

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