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Should Flogging Be Retained In Schools? by Jimmykozz(m): 9:58am On Mar 31, 2016 |
Corporal punishment is not new in schools. Teachers
cane erring pupils without their parents raising
eyebrow. But the “inhuman treatment” of Ogechi
Anyalewechi, a Junior Secondary School Two (JSS II)
pupil of Eva Adelaja Girls’ Secondary School in Bariga,
Lagos, who was said to have been flogged on her bare
buttocks and back has provoked a debate on the
punishment.
The welts on Ogechi Anyalewechi’s bare buttocks and
back are healing gradually after being flogged by her
teachers about a fortnight ago. But the case has
provoked debate about how to instil discipline in
schools. Ogechi, a JSS2 pupil of Eva Adelaja Girls’
Junior Secondary School in Bariga, Lagos, was flogged
by two teachers on the directive of the Principal, Mrs
C.O. Coker, for being rude to the head girl. The 14-
year old was taken to the Lagos State University
Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
She has chosen not to continue at the school because
of alleged persecution by her mates who protested
the removal of the principal and four other teachers
by the Lagos State government.
Last Thursday, the Lagos State Commissioner for
Youth and Social Development, Princess Uzamat
Akinbile-Yussuf, described Ogechi’s punishment as an
overkill. She assured Lagosians that the government
would not condone physical assault of minors in the
name of discipline.
Flogging is a common form of punishment for
maintaining discipline in schools. It is also commonly
used by parents to call their children to order. While
some teachers and parents think it should be phased
out, others disagree.
Those who disagree are mostly teachers who teach in
public schools, like Eva Adelaja, which is run by the
Lagos State government.
A teacher, who teaches in a public school in Education
District V foresees danger and loss of morals if
flogging is banned.
“You have to experience what we go through with
these students before you can ask us not to flog
them. Some of them display bad attitude. Some are
hardly punctual. Some come to school barefooted or
unkempt. Some smuggle phones to school and all
they do is waste their time on social media. Some
steal or fight. But the only punishment that has been
so effective over the years is flogging; and believe me,
we are getting result,” he said.
Another public school teacher, Mr Salisu Ibrahim (not
real names), also thinks flogging is necessary. But he
said teachers should beat pupils according to their
sizes.
“Most teachers abuse the use of cane by using it
unequally. For me, I look at a student, his physique
and other things which determine how I apply the
cane on him. Some students are fragile and so cannot
withstand heavy punishment. If you flog such
students heavily they may collapse or suffer stripes
that could result in injury to their body. Some
teachers apply cane on students’ head and other
sensitive places. I do not support this,” Ibrahim said.
On her part, Mrs Margaret Osifo (not real names),
described flogging as a corrective measure, which
teachers know how to apply with experience.
She said: “Even though we flog, many of us have
experience in doing that. I can beat as many as 100
students without feeling any pain. Caning students is
not punishment but corrective measure.
“In a public school where you have more than three
or four principals, who would a parent go to report
that his or her child was caned? We don’t tolerate
nonsense here. This is not a private school! The more
an aggrieved parent chooses to withdraw their wards,
the better for us because they are too many in the
first place.
“This has been a part of our training right from
school and we do it well. The Bariga incident was just
unfortunate and accidental. However, my greatest fear
is that those who take over from us when we are
gone don’t even know how to apply punishment on
students in a fair manner,” she said.
However, not all public school teachers support
flogging. A guidance counselor complained about the
tendency.
“When I see teachers beating students, I get worried; I
cannot take it. But when I complain, the teachers tell
me counseling would not work on them,” said the
counselor.
Many adults who grew up in Nigeria attested to being
flogged in their school days. Some of them argue
that since it worked in disciplining them, it can work
on young people today.
Mr Babatunde Owadusi recalls being beaten in school.
“I still have some of the marks on my back and my
parents didn’t do anything. It actually helps in
moulding the children. It should go hand-in-hand
with advice. But too much flogging should not be
condoned,” he said.
Another parent, Mr Williams Oladeji, is worried that the
anti-flogging sentiment is an imported culture, which
if adopted may not augur well for Nigerian youths.
He said: “During my days (mid 60s-mid 70s), there
was discipline. If you did anything wrong you were
flogged. In the secondary school, especially in the
boarding house, we were given corporal punishment.
However, society has changed and we are looking up
to America. In America you cannot beat children. But
the maturity of children in America is different from
our own children here; so if we just import those laws
and behaviour, it’s going to spell doom for us. In
America, where you don’t beat children or use verbal
abuse and all that, you now have gun problems.
Students go to school with guns and they shoot their
classmates, it is indiscipline. So if you refuse to flog
your children, it’s going to spell doom for Nigeria. In
my days, in the boarding house you have senior
prefects, they can flog you and you have bruises and
you won’t even have the guts to report to the house
master. It is discipline. If I flog my child, and he has
bruises, the government will tell you it is wrong; but if
we don’t, it will spell doom for us.”
Whatever level of discipline flogging may achieve, some
teachers and parents are nevertheless against it as a
form of punishment.
Mr Ugochukwu Ukaegbu, a parent, said children should
be corrected in love.
“It is barbaric; you don’t discipline a child by hitting
him/her to the extent you give the child physical
injury. Such teacher should be dealt with. During my
days they used cane, but you don’t go to that extent
to incur physical injuries on any student. During my
days there were other measures you could use to
discipline your student. For example cut grass or stay
out of class but not beating. There are so many ways
to discipline children these days. You can actually
correct them in love,” he said.
Mrs Fabusiwa Olapeju, who is based in the United
Kingdom, said children should be counseled.
“I did my secondary school in Cross Rivers. If
something like that happened, what they do is that
they punish, they don’t beat us. If they want to
discipline us they give us a field to cut the grass or
clean the teachers’ houses. Such beating should never
be condoned. Punishment should be better so that
they will sit down and reflect on what they have
done. After the punishment, they should sit the
student down and make sure he/she writes a
reflective essay, ‘What happened? Why did it happen?
What could you have done differently? So next time
should anything like that happen what would you do?’
tell that person to sit down and reflect on it, I think
that should help this children better”.
A teacher from Ojo High School, Ojo, who pleaded not
to be mentioned, also says other forms of discipline
work better than flogging.
“One thing I have realised as a teacher who once
taught in private school is that there are certain
subtle punishments that can change students’
attitude for better.
“When you ask an erring student to stay outside
during a class session or you announce his or her
name for punishment during assembly, such measure
makes the students feel so ashamed of their deeds,”
the source said.
“I remember I once punished a female student
notorious for noisemaking; and while she was kneeling
during a class, her mother visited the school and was
emotionally shattered seeing her in that state. The
mother burst into tears, saying the girl had put the
entire family to shame. The girl did not know when
she started crying too. Since then, her behaviour
changed. She stopped being a distraction during
classes. She now spends more time in the library
instead of the company of noisemakers she usually
associated herself with before the incident,” the
teacher said.
Dr Jonathan Akpan, proprietor of Access Schools,
Magboro, said dialogue works.
“You dialogue with the child; let them see why they
are wrong,” he said.
Mrs Oluwabunmi Oteju, head of inclusive schools,
Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB),
shares her view.
“Flogging is not allowed in schools. It is referred to as
corporal punishment. The educationists believe it is
not the best punitive measure to take on children. It
is better to counsel children. When you resort to
flogging all the time, the student will misbehave over
and over again, under the pretext that after all, it is
just for them to cane me and it would not change
anything in that child. But when you counsel, monitor
adequately, involve parents and teachers, you would
see changes. Effective counseling and monitoring is
better than flogging,” she said.
For Mrs Florence Aderibigbe, Proprietress, Diamonds
Mine Schools, Ogba, said flogging is child abuse.
“If you are angry and you flog a child, it can lead to
something else, like wounds and scars on the children,
which is child abuse. So schools should not be
flogging pupils,” she said.
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Re: Should Flogging Be Retained In Schools? by adorablepepple(f): 10:18am On Mar 31, 2016 |
All this long article on top flogging |
Re: Should Flogging Be Retained In Schools? by dayowunmi(m): 10:52am On Mar 31, 2016 |
This one na epistle you composed on top flogging! I think flogging has its merits and demerits, trust me, a "wicked" teacher has a way of automatically making the students sit up and be more serious with their studies than a "lax" teacher. But I think we Africans, we have a tendency to abuse any form of power bequeathed to us, most of those teachers do abuse their rights to beating a student. Remembered an incident when a teacher used wire in beating a primary school student and the the parents didn't take it likely with the school authorities. I think parents can just meet with the school management to mellow down if they discover the students are complaining about it. In my secondary school days, a parent came to complain and flogging was drastically reduced if not abolished sef. You need flogging to make students pay attention and be serious, but moderation is important. |
Re: Should Flogging Be Retained In Schools? by xender(m): 11:01am On Mar 31, 2016 |
. |
Re: Should Flogging Be Retained In Schools? by xender(m): 11:02am On Mar 31, 2016 |
how can u stop flogging ? it made most people what they are today..well na all this indomie schools . somewhere in warri (government skl) we are thinking of something higher than flogging sef. for this area 12,13 years don confirm (cultist) you see a 12 year old carrying dagger and u say u one flog am ? .that one pass flog na |
Re: Should Flogging Be Retained In Schools? by babyfaceafrica: 12:57pm On Mar 31, 2016 |
Flogging,canning,beating and the likes should kwontinue,this indomie generation no dey hear word |
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