The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Joint effort needed to check violence in classrooms: SFI

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 24, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Joint effort needed to check violence in classrooms: SFI

Staff Reporter

"Verbal and physical abuse of students prevalent"

CHENNAI: Students and teachers should unite to wipe out the various forms of violence inflicted on students in classrooms, said speakers at a seminar organised by the Students' Federation of India (SFI) here on Saturday.

Representatives of teachers' associations acknowledged that verbal and physical abuse of students by teachers was prevalent and urged students to join them in raising awareness among the student and teacher communities.

32 cases reported

Thirty-two cases of violence against students were brought to the notice of the SFI in the past two months alone, said G. Selva, Secretary of the Tamil Nadu unit.

He alleged that the helpline announced by the Department of School Education functioned merely as a conduit to pass on information to Chief Educational Officers of the districts concerned and was not involved in taking action.

Corporal punishment

S.S. Rajagopalan, educationist, said that teachers and parents should be counselled about the inefficacy of corporal punishment.

Regulations encouraging student participation in decision-making and dispute resolution need to be implemented. The issue of violence in classrooms should be discussed in the context of wide-ranging reforms required in school education today, he said.

Mayavan, Graduate Teachers' Association, said teachers in government service sometimes emulated the example of dictatorial government officials and vented their frustration on students.

Representing the Tamil Nadu Post-Graduate Teachers' Association, Mr. Boobalan said teacher associations that had participated in their seminar last year agreed that corporal punishment should not be imposed.

Rudhran, psychologist, said that only a united student body would be able to express objections that would be taken seriously.

He urged students to be perceptive and start differentiating between the types of violence inflicted.

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