Is discipline without corporal punishment in schools possible?

The debate on whether to use punishment to discipline children in schools, homes and other care settings is longstanding and to a large extent unresolved. It was only in 2007 that the first country in Africa, Togo, outlawed corporal punishment in all settings, according to the Global Initiative to end all corporal punishment of children. Nine other countries followed suit, including Kenya, Tunisia and South Africa. The most recent being Seychelles and Guinea who amended their laws in 2020.

In Tanzania the debate has been sporadic, triggered by incidents of extreme cases of students being injured and even killed at the hands of their teachers … and then … as if carried away by swift winds, the buzz goes silent, perhaps to be reignited by another extreme case.

In 2018, reports of a teenage boy who was beaten to death by a teacher after being accused of stealing a handbag; and another in 2016, of a girl who was forced to remove her underwear before being caned by four teachers in succession because of absenteeism; both ignited the debate on ending corporal punishments.

Such calls to end corporal punishment however have been received by mixed messages from government leaders. In January the President commented that caning is the only way to create discipline among adolescents. Just two days before the President’s word, Kilimanjaro regional commissioner Anna Mghwira said that severe measures would be taken against teachers who ‘beat’ students to the point of causing physical injury.

But what does the law say in relation to corporal punishment in Tanzania? The Child Act 2009 in mainland Tanzania provides for “justifiable” correction; while the Children’s Act 2011 in Zanzibar confirms that parents may discipline their children providing it does not lead to injury. Clearly, the thinking here is that physical injury is considered the only serious side effect of physical punishment, but is it?

Research has proven time again that discipline by punishment is associated with many emotional and psychological problems that can severely affect children’s development and effective learning in schools. Don’t such concerns weigh equal or even more than physical injury?

The reason that so many people still believe that punishment is an effective approach to disciplining children stems from the widely held, but unchallenged beliefs regarding the effectiveness of corporal punishment; lack of awareness about the problems resulting from the use of physical punishment; and simply because punishment has been used as a form of discipline for many years. In addition, many people lack knowledge about alternative approaches to effective disciplining; without forgetting the notorious exclamation - “we were all caned growing up and we didn’t die … in fact, we turned out just fine!”. It goes without saying that we don’t need to all be beaten to death before we can be willing to explore alternatives to discipline by punishment.

The truth will remain that the psychological and emotional distress that results from punishment can cast a long shadow in the lives of the children. Research has shown that punishment in schools can cause the punitive teacher to be avoided by students, negatively affecting the child’s education and development. A 2010 study in Tanzania’s O-level secondary education showed that majority of teachers supported the use of corporal punishment, but believed in moderation. It also showed that majority of students and teachers were unaware of national laws on corporal punishment.

Way forward

While the issue of removing all forms of corporal punishment for children remains strongly divisive, it is an issue that must be approached systemically. But systemic change cannot, and will not happen overnight. As such, while continuing the public debate, lobbying and sensitization for change, what can be done now is creating awareness of ‘what is’, even if flawed, and how best to get good outcomes out of it. Firstly, both students and teachers to be made aware of what the law says. Secondly, students need to be empowered and given avenues to exercise their rights within the law, for example by establishing grievance procedures when students are unfairly treated.

As a proactive measure, tactics to enable early detection and control of bad behaviours before they escalate out of control need to be put in place, including training on soft skills such as communication, self-leadership and emotional intelligence.

Ms Kimaro writes about careers, personal growth, and issues affecting youth and women