By RABIU SANI-ALI

Bauchi State government says it is poised to end corporal punishment in schools.

Mrs. Sa’adutu Usman, Desk Officer, UNICEF at the Bauchi State Ministry of Education, stated this on Tuesday in Bauchi at a one-day dissemination meeting on alternatives to corporal punishment.

Corporal punishment can be defined as a disciplining method in which a supervising adult inflicts pain upon a child in response to the child’s unacceptable behaviour and or use of inappropriate language.

The immediate aims of such punishment are usually to halt the offence, prevent its recurrence and serve as deterrent for others.

The purported long-term goal is to change the child’s behaviour to make it more consistent with the adult’s expectations.

In corporal punishment, the adult usually hits various parts of the child’s body with a hand, or with canes, paddles, yardsticks, belts, or other objects expected to cause pain and fear.

Usman said the dissemination meeting was organised by the ministry in collaboration with the UNICEF, and the Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), to create awareness on ending corporal punishment.

She said it would expose the participants to the dangers and demerits of corporal punishment.

This, she said, would enable them to develop alternative disciplinary measures to end corporal punishment in schools in the state.

She said the ministry had sensitised relevant stakeholders in the education sector in the 20 local government areas of the state on dangers of corporal punishment.

She added that the stakeholders were also sensitised on the need to promote support for positive alternative disciplinary measures.

A resource person at the meeting, Mr. Ibrahim Yakubu-Tafida, said corporal punishment often resulted in physical violence, bullying and delinquency in schools.

He blamed the adoption of corporal punishment on the inability of the state to integrate discipline into pre-service teacher training curriculum, social norms and lack of knowledge of Teachers Code of Conduct.

“Corporal punishment negatively affects children’s enrolment, retention in school and learning outcomes,’’ he stressed.

In his remarks, Mr Ibrahim Abdu, Deputy Director, School Services in the ministry, said a recent survey showed that 81 per cent of Primary-2 pupils were afraid to attend school for fear of punishment.

The fear, he said, resulted to pupils’ poor comprehension of lessons taught, poor retentive memory, truancy and absenteeism.

He urged participants to evolve a template to facilitate the formulation of alternative disciplinary procedures in schools in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that about 70 participants attended the dissemination meeting.

They were drawn from the ministry, SUBEB, the Local Education Authority and the Bauchi State Agency for Nomadic Education.

Representatives of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, community and religious leaders also attended the meeting. (NAN)

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