Warning to teachers!

Last year, the High Court declared corporal punishment unlawful and abolished it in schools. It abhors my family, however, that some teachers choose and prefer the status of 'outlaw' rather than of an 'honourable teacher', which sends a wrong message to society. Sir Frank Peters wrote: "Any teacher or headmaster who engages in corporal punishment is an enemy of student, family and state, now that corporal punishment has been outlawed." It could not be said more simply than that. The very profession from which we expect exemplary conduct and to teach our children right from wrong, is letting all of us down badly. No doubt there are many good teachers who abide by the law, but the renegades who think they are above the law give them and the profession a bad name. To protect their once hallowed name, it is vital that honourable teachers speak out and admonish their fellow colleagues for administering corporal punishment. We are a volatile race needing very little to make us angry and retort to violence as a solution to all disagreements, especially in villages. As protective parents become aware of their rights by law, their tolerance level of misdemeanours towards their children drops dramatically. If I were a teacher, I would quit administering corporal punishment immediately, as required by law, and not risk beatings by angry parents or relatives, as is already happening across Bangladesh. Kamal Hoque Rangpur E-mail : kamal.hoque@ymail.com