New Delhi: In the wake of alleged suicide
by a student in Kolkata after being canned by his principal, a
child rights body may push for amending the IPC to ensure that
anyone involved in corporal punishment does not get away under
certain provisions of the law.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
(NCPCR), a body to safeguard the rights of children, is of the
view that Section 88 and 89 of the Indian Penal Code give a
cover to teachers and elders to resort to corporal punishment
against children "in good faith".
"We are examining whether the section 88 and 89 of IPC
have any bearing on corporal punishment. If people are using
those sections as cover for corporal punishment, we would seek
amendment to the IPC," a senior NCPCR official told PTI here.
NCPCR Chairperson Shantha Sinha yesterday met HRD
Minister Kapil Sibal and discussed the issue of corporal
punishment in the light of Right To Education Act which bans
such offences.
The two IPC sections say that nothing should be
considered as an offence if it is "done in good faith for
benefit of a person under 12 years of age".
NCPCR will now examine the issue and make
recommendations to the government.
Sibal has asked Sinha to frame and issue tough
guidelines to get rid of corporal punishment in schools.
"The children are very precious to us. They are the
future of our country. No child should be subjected to
harassment and thereby get demotivated and be pushed out of
the system," he told reporters here.
Sibal said that the newly enacted Right To Education
Act prohibits corporal punishment.
"Because we have a provision in the Act, we can issue
guidelines. We will be in fact in discussion with NCPCR for
issuance of guidelines," he said.
"We must get rid of corporal punishment. Children need
to be included in the system. I think there is so much change
in the methodology and the way we deliver education," he said.
The NCPCR has already issued guidelines in 2007. But
those rules are not enough to check the menace.
13-year-old Rouvanjit Rawla, a student of La
Martiniere School in Kolkata, allegedly committed suicide
after being canned by his principal.
PTI
