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Non-violent Measures Needed To
Resolve Differences and Disputes
News from the T&T MINISTRY OF
EDUCATION
The Ministry of Education does not
sanction the use of Corporal Punishment by authority figures in
schools and is of the view that the process of education must be
conducted in an ordered and disciplined environment in which the
teacher's authority is to insist on discipline. No justification for
the use of corporal punishment is considered or tolerated and the
Ministry remains firm in its policy that corporal punishment not be
administered to any child, at any age, of any sex, in any type of
school and under any circumstance.
In societies across the world, it
has in the past been acceptable for those having charge of minors -
whether they be parents, guardians or teachers - to use physical
chastisement as punishment for lapses of discipline. In schools,
other forms of discipline have included students writing lines or
missing privileges. Times change and what is acceptable in one era
have become unacceptable in another.
In keeping with this evolving trend,
the Ministry of Education has adopted a policy to not use corporal
punishment as a means of discipline and look to alternative ways and
means of disciplining a child. The Ministry of Education will not
adopt "the use of a rod" approach to instill discipline.
The Ministry's Chief Education
Officer, Mrs. Paula Daniel, says personal safety is of prime
importance to everyone, including students in the classroom. "A
student who does not feel safe, who is constantly under threat of
punishment is not free to learn. Teachers who call for corporal
punishment often betray a lack of skill in the area of discipline,
classroom management and curriculum planning," she
said.
There is widespread data
internationally that suggests children who are constantly beaten at
home and at school see physical violence as the first and only way
to resolve differences between themselves and others. How they
behave and what they do, reflects what they have seen and
experienced in their own homes and at school. In 199S, the
Government hosted a National Consultation on Violence and
Indiscipline in Schools. Regulations 141 ands 142 of the Education
Act featured much in that debate. A Committee that included
representatives of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers'
Association, the National Parent-Teacher Association, the Ministry
of National Security and the Ministry of Education concluded that
the Regulations relating to the administration of corporal
punishment was archaic and should only be used as a guideline and
that corporal punishment should be phased out.
Further, we have to remember that the
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is a signatory to the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child. As such, we must adhere to
all articles of the Convention notably: - "Parties shall take all
appropriate measures to ensure that school discipline is
administered in a manner consistent with the child's human dignity
and in conformity with the present Convention. "
The Ministry of Education's policies have
since evolved and at present our position is that no form of
corporal punishment is tolerated or will be tolerated. Corporal
Punishment is incompatible with the purposes of education and the
risk of lawsuits makes its use unwise. As a consequence, the
Ministry of Education does not sanction the use of corporal
punishment by authority figures in schools.
Training continues to be provided for
teachers in alternative strategies that can be used to attain and
maintain orderly environment in the classroom. These strategies,
Mrs. Daniel explained, are more in line with the view that
"discipline is not a way to control children but a process of
education designed to improve and perfect behaviour, with its goal
being obedience to rules based on self-control and self-
discipline."
The Ministry recognizes that there are
factors within and outside the school system that have prompted
delinquency in our children and as such is very conscious of the
need to help teaches to better manage their classrooms. The goal is
to create a climate conducive to learning for all students some of
whom may engage in disruptive behaviour.
In the Ministry's move to address the
upsurge in violence and indiscipline in schools. Dr. Michael Alleyne,
Coordinator of the Ministry's School Intervention Strategies Unit
advises that the Ministry has taken a positive, proactive,
preventative approach rather than an emphasis on punitive measures.
The approach is fundamental to "Project • Peace" which is the
programme through with the Ministry is dealing with violence and
indiscipline in schools. The vision and long-term goal of "Project
Peace" (which was launched by the Hon. Minister of Education Senator
Hazel Manning in March 2003) are to create "a Culture of Peace and
Civility" in the individual, the school, the family and the society
at large.
The principal objective of Project Peace is
to impart life skills by using non-violent measures to resolve
differences and disputes and to cultivate internal self-discipline
in all individuals. Corporal punishment, therefore, is incompatible
with the approach of Project Peace and inimical to its vision.
Project Peace includes several pertinent
initiatives such "Reclaiming the Classroom - Alternatives To
Corporal Punishment" which is being conducted in collaboration with
the UWI Centre for Gender and Development Studies, a "Peace, Love
and Understanding Project" with the cooperation of the Coalition
Against Domestic Violence, the "Student Time-out Programme" (STOP)
and "Together We Light the Way”.
The Ministry of Education will continue to
work with Non-Governmental Organizations and with its in-house
resources to improve the capacity of teachers to more effectively
manage their classrooms without recourse to corporal punishment. In
the present thrust to modernize curricular at all levels of the
education system, the training offered in the Teacher Training
Colleges and at the University of the West Indies will receive
special attention to ensure that teachers become more effective
managers of their classrooms.
The Ministry of Education refutes
categorically any notion that consideration is being given to the
return of Corporal Punishment to schools across the nation.
Information provided by:
Communications Unit
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
Alexandra Street, St. Clair.
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. |
