Corporal punishment rampant in Mizoram

Mizoram holds the dubious distinction of holding second position in the list of states where corporal punishment and humilitation of students in schools are rampant, second only to Assam.

Mizoram holds the dubious distinction of holding second position in the list of states where corporal punishment and humilitation of students in schools are rampant, second only to Assam.

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According to a study on Child Abuse India 2007, conducted by the UNICEF and Delhi based PRAYAS (Save the Children) under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Welfare Development, at least 90.86 per cent of students in the state are the victims of corporal punishment, second to Assam's 99.56 per cent.

The menace leaves students not only traumatised for life, but also puts their education in jeopardy with female students suffering the most.

Very recently a student of class nine fails to continue her studies after she was beaten on her bare bottom by a teacher in front of her class mates.

Though the school authorities later apologised to her parents and sacked the erring teacher, the hapless girl refused to go to that school again and the trauma continued to haunt her in a new school she was admitted to.

Not all students, however, protest. Many parents prefer to remain silent, lest the academic careers of their wards are hampered, says Vanramchhuangi, leader of the Human Rights and Law Network, who had undertaken a study on corporal punishment in schools.