An open letter to the Education Minister

As ordinary citizens of Bangladesh, we are writing this open letter from Canada to the Minister of Education, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your continuous efforts in improving our education sector. Though we are now living in Canada, both of us worked in our motherland since 1995 for the community-based integrated rural development for children, families and communities. During our 16 years of service with many international organisations, we built and renovated many primary and secondary schools in remote areas in Bangladesh with the support of individuals, local community leaders and some international donors. We would like to draw your kind attention to the following: You must agree that all forms of corporal punishment are a fundamental breach of human rights. A slap is as detrimental to the children's rights as a grievous injury. Indeed, there are no gradations since it must be seen that condoning so-called small acts actually lead to gross violations. It is also legally impermissible. Due to fear, children are often silent and submit to the violence without questioning. For long, being harassed on the knuckles, asked to run on the school fields, kneeling down or standing up for long hours, being beaten with a ruler, pinched and slapped have been seen by teachers as an acceptable form of disciplining the children. But can this form of discipline be acceptable? No, no and no. This is in consonance with the High Court order of 2010 banning corporal punishment of children and directing the state to ensure they receive education in an environment of freedom and dignity, free from fear. But the rights of children continue to be violated in the garb of discipline. Like many other writers, Sir Frank Peters, our goodwill ambassador, feels these are not isolated instances but manifestations of a culture of violence and insensitivity to children and their rights. It is crystal clear that the responsibility of safeguarding children from punishment lies with teachers and the school administration. Therefore, we would like to draw your kind attention to direct the education department to: Inform children through campaigns that they have a right to speak up against corporal punishment and bring it to the notice of the authorities; constitute a forum in schools, hostels, juvenile justice homes, shelter homes and other public institutions where children can express their views; and set up complaint boxes in all schools, which are closely monitored and supervised, and necessary actions are taken accordingly. A monthly meeting of the parent-teacher associations and the school education committees is highly demanded. The education committees should review complaints and take appropriate actions. The parent-teacher associations should be encouraged to act immediately on complaints by children before further injury is caused. The education departments at upazila, district and national levels are to establish procedures for reviewing the responses to the complaints of children and monitoring the action taken. If all these steps are implemented; going to school could become a joyful experience for the children. We are very proud to mention that we have sent our only son from Canada to Bangladesh as an international student to study medicine and surgery and to serve the motherland. He has studied at many internationally reputed institutions including McGill University. We earnestly believe that a creative man like yourself is motivated by to achieve, not by the desire to punish. We thank you for patiently reading our appeal to been corporal punishment in the education system. Gopal Sengupta and Shyamali Sengupta write from Montreal, Canada. They can be reached at email: gopalsengupta@aol.com