Cruelty to our children must stop

Photo: A. M. AHAD / DRIKNEWS

Much has been said and a lot has been written over the last year about the inhuman practice of corporal punishment in our schools in several leading newspapers. Parents and pupils have loudly applauded the compassionate efforts of Sir Frank Peters in his bold attempts to rid the system of the injustice, cruelty and torture the students are exposed to in the schools.
Since the Bangladesh High Court banned corporal punishment in schools, I cannot recall any of the mighty overseas organisations such as Save the Children, Oxfam etc. etc. ever lending any voice or support to Sir Frank's campaign. And why was it never on their agenda over the decades is a complete mystery to me.
Now our main focus should be on ridding the schools of the curse of corporal punishment. All of us have let down the children of country for too long. It is time we stood up, spoke out, and took action against those who disobey the law and cause the innocent children to suffer.
I propose that any teacher guilty of giving corporal punishment to a child is sacked immediately from the school no apologies accepted and the police, school authorities and the child's family take whatever action they deem appropriate.
Cruelty to our children must stop. It's barbaric for any enlightened society.