Page 26 - KPSA EXCELLENCE MARCH -MAY ONLINE

Corporal Punishment
Damages Relationship
By Simon Mamba.
Corporal punishment encompasses
all types of physical punishment,
including spanking, slapping,
pinching, pulling, twisting, and
hitting with an object. It also may
include forcing a child to take up
some tasks against their will or even
consuming unpleasant substances
such as soap, hot sauce, or hot pepper. good foundation at their homes. It is
It is a punishment intended to cause
physical pain to a person especially
minors at home and school. The
Kenyan government banned corporal
punishment in Kenyan schools and
enacted the children’s Act 14 years
ago.
Education Cabinet Secretary George
Magoha wants corporal punishment
reintroduced in schools to stem
runaway indiscipline among students.
He said that though appearing
atavistic, corporal punishment
holds the key to settling cases where
“students have grown horns.” The
CS said school arson and attacks on
teachers are on the rise, indicating a
society going to the dogs. He spoke
at Nyaburu Boarding Primary School
in Kisii on 28th January 2021. “I may
appear old school but I think we are at strategy but can come at a significant
a time when we need to discuss how
we can bring sanity in our schools
and maybe bring the cane on board
once more,” Magoha said.
26 KPSA Excellence March - May 2021
“Corporal punishment if rightly
used can significantly reduce many
of the indiscipline cases in learning
centres,” he added. He urged parents
to “rein in their children from home”
as part of efforts to reduce deviance.
“We are not going to accept that
schools be dumping grounds for
students who lack proper nurture and
such parents who again turn against
teachers, accusing them of not doing
enough to control their children. That
should stop,” he said. He said parents
must begin getting time out of their
busy schedules to counsel their
children. There have been complaints
from students on how corporal
punishment is acted on them in
their schools. Also some parents
complain of how their children are
being punished thoroughly in front
of them.
Teacher’s main reason of using
corporal punishment in schools is
that they believe that it is the most
effective way of disciplining students. with robots or animals (remember
The corporal punishments, may
appear to be more powerful and
attractive behavior of management
cost. Most of these punishments are
accompanied by negative side effects
especially to students who are fond of
making mistakes most times.
When such punishments are applied
to such students, it creates resentment
and damage the relationship between
a student and a teacher. So teachers
should understand the pros and
cons and know what to consider
before using such punishments
because some mistakes do not need a
punishment technique but a guidance
and counseling. Cs Magoha’s remarks
on the reintroduction of corporal
punishment in schools has sparkled
mixed reactions among the citizens
and netizens of this country whereby
some of them are in support of the
idea while some are against the idea.
Speaking to Mr. Julius Nyerere,
deputy head teacher at Good
Testimony Schools in Nairobi, he said
that children are ‘human beings’ that
should be taught to love, care and take
responsibility in life. He added that
all this starts with decision making
on what affects them, even in making
rules that are helpful to themselves.
He reiterated that we are not dealing
we can train animals with love).
He said children have rights that
they must know and the first
knowledge should be shared by
their parents and they must learn
for every right they got. He added
that the parents have responsibilities
and must be able to effectively take
their baby steps to realizing those