Maneka Gandhi writes to HRD ministry on corporal punishment in schools

New Delhi: Union women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi has written to human resource development (HRD) minister Prakash Javadekar on the need to curb corporal punishment in schools, urging him to direct them to follow the national guidelines on the issue.

This comes in the wake of media reports last week about a principal of a government school in eastern Uttar Pradesh forcing a group of girl students to run on the playground without their skirts for failing to memorise Sanskrit shlokas.

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“The WCD ministry has asked the ministry of human resource development for widespread circulation and implementation of the Guidelines for Elimination of Corporal Punishment (GECP) prepared by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR),” according to an official statement.

The guidelines prepared by the apex body for child rights in the country recommend formation of “Special Monitoring Cells” in schools to look into cases of physical punishment or harassment of children and prepare annual audit reports on complaints of physical punishment, harassment and discrimination. As per the Right to Education Act, an act of “physical punishment or mental harassment” inflicted on a child will attract disciplinary action.