Corporal punishment for kids play a major role in driving them away from schools, opined High Court judge and Executive Chairman of Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA), Justice V Gopala Gowda. He called upon parents and teachers to abandon the “unscientific” attempt of disciplining kids with corporal punishment, since it was counter-productive.
He was speaking after inaugurating an one-day seminar on ‘Sexual Harassment at Workplaces’ and ‘Corporal Punishment  for Child’, in Bangalore on Thursday. It was organised by KSLSA, Bangalore Urban and Rural District Legal Services Authorities and National Law School of India University(NLSIU)’s Centre for Child and the Law.
Justice Gowda said: “It is not enough if teachers know teaching. They should also understand the mind of the children.” He stressed the need to sensitise bureaucrats, legislators, policy-makers and judicial officers towards juvenile grievances, adding that laws for protection of women’s rights needed to be rigorously implemented. NLSIU Vice-Chancellor, Dr A Jayagovind who presided over, said, effective steps were necessary to check corporal punishment, now being used as a short-cut by many parents and teachers.