It is not true that corporal punishment was abolished in our schools

Dear Editor,

A parent wrote in the SN of 24 Jan, 2025 that corporal punishment – beating of children in Guyana’s schools has been abolished. That is not true. The Government of Guyana continues to believe that it is okay for teachers and other adults to beat children as a form of discipline even as individual politicians fumble and say all kinds of things which make to seem as though Guyana bad because the adults don’t give children a good cut tail (even as many of the adults who got licks contribute to the dysfunction in Guyana).

We have seen recently that a judge also sentenced a prisoner to flogging. This is why of course, trying to deal with violence in schools does not seem to be achieving the results as all violence is connected, and so 17 students beating another student is connected to the Government’s reluctance to stop teachers from beating children and judges from beating those who are convicted of crimes.

Sincerely,

Vidyaratha Kissoon