SIXTY percent of respondents in a nationwide consultation supported retaining corporal punishment in Fiji’s Education Act.
The consultation was conducted by the Education Act Review Commission on behalf of the Fijian Teachers Association (FTA), as part of the association’s push to reintroduce corporal punishment in schools.
According to the findings, 60 per ent of individuals supported reinstating corporal punishment, 28 percent disagreed, while the remainder were undecided.
FTA general secretary Paula Manumanuitoga revealed the results during this week’s National Conversation on Corporal Punishment in Fiji, where he called for broader public consultation on the issue.
“Now we’re trying to find out when this Convention on the Rights of the Child was signed by Fiji, was there any consultation done or did the Fijian representative just go and sign?” Mr Manumanuitoga said.
He said the FTA believes the issue should be revisited through open discussions involving parents, communities and teachers, particularly those in rural areas.
“We need to hear the voice of the people. We need to get to the villages and find out whether they are supporting this Convention on the Rights of the Child.”
Mr Manumanuitoga said some teachers felt their rights were being overlooked and that there should also be a formal framework recognising teachers’ rights within the Education Act.
Heads to belt pupils
THE authority to dish out corporal punishment should be held only by heads of schools.
This was the proposal made by Fijian Teachers Association (FTA) general secretary, Paula Manumanuitoga during the National Conversation on Corporal Punishment held this week.
Mr Manumanuitoga said the association supported the reintroduction of corporal punishment under strict conditions, allowing only head teachers or principals to administer it as a last resort.
“I know fully well what I’m up against because I represent a group that strongly advocates for the return of corporal punishment, at a level only to be with the heads of schools,” he said.
He acknowledged that past practices of corporal punishment in schools were often excessive but said the FTA’s proposal calls for a controlled and regulated approach.
“We are suggesting that it be only with the head of school and following the strict conditions of strapping a leather belt.
“It’s a deterrent, it would be a deterrent for students.”
Mr Manumanuitoga, a former primary school teacher, emphasised that corporal punishment should only be used when all other disciplinary measures had failed.
“It will be used as a final measure, when all the avenues have been exhausted.
Then the headteacher can discipline the student through the belt.”
