SAY NO TO PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT

11 year old Sompa Banarjee from west Bengal in a live dance show could garner more votes than all other participating contenders .She not only won the hearts of the judges of the competition with her unblemished and brilliant dance performance, but could also unintentionally knock on the conscience of large number of audience worldwide watching the program. The audience showered on her copious votes which gave her an edge over rest of the no less talented competitors.Just after Sompa concluded her staggering performance, thunderous clapping by audience and judges made her look satisfied with some tears of happiness rolling down over her cheeks. Then came judges' pronouncement followed by her revelation of how she managed to master the nuances of the BHARATNATYAM at this tender age. She was full of gratitude towards her dance teacher whose constant support, guidance and love, according to her, caused to bring best in her. Ravi Prasad, the dance teacher, tried to  downplay his role giving all the credits of her success entirely to her sheer determination, hard work and an unbelievable desire to excel . An outstanding display of bond between a teacher and his student was seen when Sompa flung herself  in her teacher's arms in front of a huge concourse of spectators. That was, I think, the best part of the show. On being asked by one of the judges if she had felt nervous performing In front of her teacher, she humbly acknowledged that his inspiring presence, on the contrary, made her feel comfortable and do her best.The viewers and the judges were moved in pain when innocent Sompa shared another story of torture and mental agony she was going through at her school. A sullen and forbidding silence suddenly engulfed the stage when she showed a deep bruise on her neck which her math teacher awarded for not doing home work. "I am not good in mathematics", she candidly admitted, "but it is not that I do not try. Still I fail to solve the problems". The regular physical punishment has made Sompa hapless and she has gradually developed an aversion for her school and studies."I don't want to go to school, but I will miss out the company of my loving friends if I do so." She helplessly revealed.The disclosure was so touching that it brought tears in the eyes of Sompa's parents who were sitting amidst audience. They were also peeved at the enduring pain of their little daughter but ,"In our small town we have not any other school in  the radius of 5 km. and our complaint with the school authorities has fallen flat on their deaf ears", the unfortunate mother lamented.Though Sompa stole the limelight of the show and won the competition, it could not offer her any succor out of the traumatic experience she has been through at her school. Like her, there are numerous school-going children who face corporal punishment of severe nature everyday for their weakness in a particular subject or their innocuous indiscipline behavior.Such punishments usually lead to serious  bodily  damages along with an adverse impact on psychological growth of children who begin to loathe their schools and teachers which adversely impact the process of learning.The social behavior of such children begin to take an ugly turn when even parents, friends and relatives treat them as useless on the basis of their poor  academic performance and repeated  complaints from  teachers. The innocent children find themselves in a world full of expectations , torture and artificiality without any scope for exhibition and promotion of own interest and talent. This feeling renders them aloof and negativity along with indignation takes over the mind of innocent children causing a great loss to society and nation.REMEDIAL MEASURESSeveral guidelines by different states' education boards and central board to the school authorities have failed to check the menace of corporal punishments as is evident from the occurrence of such cases time and again. Even the judicial intervention and legislative measures have not yielded desired result.Corporal punishment is more than an institutional predicament and is a result of a complex web of factors and hence, its abolition calls for a multi-dimensional and a holistic approach.To begin with, awareness among teachers and school authorities about bodily punishment and its adverse impact on school children should be spread far and deep. It has been seen that the rural and interior parts of the country witness high cases of punishment, torture and exploitation of children at schools due to lack of awareness among teachers and parents.The selection and training programs of teachers should be immediately reviewed and some qualitative changes should be introduced so that the temperament of teachers may help in promoting the tolerance limit. Teachers should be trained in self-control, class management and leadership. They should be trained in such a way that they easily recognize weaknesses and strengths of students and work accordingly for their benefits.A different kind of schooling based on the interest and talent of children is the need of the hour. However, the government needs to be creative and zealous enough to generate employment in non-conventional areas of human talent and pursuits. This will go a long way in reducing pressures on children from various quarters of society, doing away with parents' anxiety and exploiting the full potential of children for the sake of social and cultural prosperity.Gone are the days when flicks of canes installed discipline among children at schools. Now, a different set of instruments, totally harmless and encouraging in nature, should be discovered and used so that the purpose of discipline among children is not defeated and the process of learning remains full of interest and enthusiasm.Sompa along with other victims will then take a sigh of relief and set out for their respective schools without any valid trepidation.VASHISTHA RAY