Torture and other degrading treatment of children in schools and the Law

Protection of children from torture and other degrading treatments in school is aimed at helping stop the abuse of children by teaching and non-teaching staff. Such treatments include but are not limited to Physical Violence of all manner.

Teacher excesses in the area of discipline have created uncomfortable situations and public confrontations which have left some heads of schools and teachers dead, beaten by the public, or imprisoned.

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Torture and other degrading treatments of school children is an abuse, a human rights violation and can lead to imprisonment of the teacher or death of the student.

The GES code of conduct outlines some of these degrading treatments.

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Protection of Children from Torture and Other Degrading Treatment

Physical Violence

Physical harm inflicted on pupils/students in any form constitutes a gross violation of the child’s rights. Consequently;

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An employee shall not administer any act of corporal punishment, or any act that inflicts physical pain on the children or causes physical harm to their pupils/students such as pushing, pulling, hitting and/or flogging.

No staff shall subject pupils/students to painful body posture such as “frog jumping”, standing in the sun and holding heavy loads on outstretched hands.

No employee shall punish a child to do any work outside the classroom during contact hours.

No staff shall cause harm to any pupil/student.

A staff shall not threaten any pupil/student with harm with intent to put that person in fear of harm.

No employee shall assault any pupil/student.

A staff shall not subject a pupil/student to or encourage other pupils/students to subject a pupil/student to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment including any cultural practice that dehumanizes or is injurious to the physical and mental well-being of the pupil/student.

An employee shall intervene to stop a pupil/student from perpetrating physical violence or abuse upon another pupil/student.

A staff shall intervene to stop a fellow staff from perpetrating physical violence or abuse on a pupil/student.

No correction of a pupil/student is justifiable that is unreasonable in kind or in degree according to the age, physical and mental condition of the pupil/student and if the child by reason of tender age or otherwise is incapable of understanding the purpose of the correction.