A STUDENT of Marist Brothers High School has submitted to the Fiji Law Reform Commission the need for a comprehensive review of the issue of corporal punishment and teacher conduct throughout the country’s schools.
The student, who wished to remain anonymous, made the submission at a public consultation on the review of the Fiji Education Act 1966 in Suva last week.
He said although the founding father of MBHS did not support corporal punishment, he would still support the idea of “teachers to be trained on how to administer corporal punishment”.
“With all due respect to our patron saint, but with modern age time, I can say there is a very big difference,” the Year 13 student said.
“If corporal punishment is allowed, can we have specialised people train our teachers on giving corporal punishment?
“Because for me, even though I am a Year 13 student, I still get tossed.”
He expressed concern that the emotional impact of teachers’ behaviour could leave students feeling mentally affected and unmotivated to attend school.
“Sometimes, teachers do things or say things that really affect us students. It hits us mentally and we do not want to come to school,” he added.
“I recommend that teachers undergo regular training and evaluation processes to improve how they interact with students.”
