Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Shocking

The death of Milan Tanna, a Standard XI student, while running around his school ground in Ahmedabad as punishment for late coming is shocking. It is disheartening to hear of children being forced to undergo severe punishment for small mistakes. What teachers and school authorities must understand is that children will always be children. It is not the best practice to punish them physically for the mistakes they commit. Teachers who believe in punishing them thus should be charged with child abuse.

Taju Punnoose,

The ‘punishment’ must be viewed seriously by the authorities concerned. The grief and loss of Milan’s parents cannot be compensated with money.

The action taken against those responsible should be such that it deters other schools from treating their students in such a manner.

V.P. Ramesan,

The incident raises serious questions on the issue of punishment meted out by schools. Making a student run for close to a thousand metres is indeed condemnable. Instead, he could have been marked absent for the day.

J. Anantha Padmanabhan,

Children are keen observers of behaviour and are influenced more by our actions than words. Corporal and inhuman punishment makes them intolerant and hostile. We can help our children imbibe a sense of respect only by setting an example and providing constant encouragement. The authorities concerned at all levels should ensure that students are not punished physically. They can be given moral education or made to compulsorily attend the library as punishment.

A.J. Rangarajan,

Running around the ground as a physical exercise is different from the running imposed as punishment on a student. In the second instance, the runner carries in his heart the burden of humiliation and injury to self-esteem. The punishment awaiting him as a result of further loss of time in reaching his classroom will surely haunt him. This is unacceptable and anathema to the basics of healthy education.

S.V. Venugopalan,

Although the student’s sudden demise looks inexplicable and is sad, there are several conditions which do not cause symptoms whatsoever but do prove fatal in certain circumstances. Even though in childhood, sudden death is rare, it is known to occur throughout the world. And this has been well documented in medical literature. Public awareness of rare disorders that can prove mortal needs to be increased.

Dr. A. Aravindan,

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