To Punish or Not To Punish

When disciplinary action has to be taken against students who do wrong, teachers in schools should not get carried away by meting out harsh punishment on such students. Cases involving excessive punishment by teachers have been making headlines in the country. Parents are now very concerned of their children’s well being in schools. Meanwhile, the education ministry is facing an uphill task in ensuring parents that students are not being ill treated, at the same time ensuring that proper and consistent disciplinary actions are upheld in all schools. The EWRF editorial decided to take a closer look at this issue that has become the talk of town.

Mr Jayapalan Suppiah, the headmaster of SJK (T) Saraswathy, said that there are systematic ways which have been drawn up by the Ministry of Education for teachers to follow when handling disciplinary issues involving students. Having been a discipline teacher for 22 years, Jayapalan stressed that punishment should only be used to steer students to the right path. “When I was a discipline master, my car was never once damaged by students”, he said, implying that many discipline teachers get into trouble with students by pulling off drastic disciplinary measures. He further stressed on the importance of a healthy parent – teacher relationship. “Parents tend to get a little over protective of their children. This could lead to unnecessary friction between the parents and the schools. The ego factor between the two parties should be done away with as it will be the students who will face the repercussions of an unhealthy relationship between parents and teachers”, said a concerned Jayapalan.

“Fear can actually bring about positive changes in students”, said Dr Annathurai, Psychological-Mental Skills Consultant. Annathurai, who is also the Vice President of the Rawang Tamil School’s Parent-Teacher Association, mentioned that a thorough background check should be done on students who are identified as being problematic before carrying out punishment. According to him, fear that is instilled through proper ways in students will actually help deter students from getting involved with unwanted behaviours. ”The Parent-Teacher Association in every school plays a pivotal role in bringing the parents and teachers under one roof to discuss matters concerning students. Instead of being in constant loggerheads with one another, parents and teachers must settle whatever differences that occur for the benefit of the students”, said Annathurai.

The Ministry of Education has to handle this matter tactfully as any wrong decision could bring about unwanted turmoil among teachers and parents. It is hoped that this issue would be resolved in best possible way without leaving any negative impression on the country’s education system.