The government will treat corporal punishment at government and private schools as a criminal offence and appropriate action will be taken against both the teachers and the school management, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters here, he said corporal punishment was a violation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act.

“Even parents don’t punish their children. Teachers giving corporal punishment to children is not acceptable. Directions have been issued to the education department officials to take strict action against teachers and school managements that violate the Act,” he said.
He said the department had issued a show-cause notice to the school management for tonsuring two brothers for not attending classes recently.

The department will not remain a mute spectator to such incidents, he warned.

Teachers’ recruitment
The minister said he had convened a meeting of the department officials on Tuesday to discuss the rules to be followed for recruiting English language teachers in government schools.

The department recently initiated steps to recruit about 4,000 English teachers.
Those who had completed a nine-month diploma in English were eligible for recruitment.
But the Karnataka High Court quashed the recruitment process as graduates who had studied English as a major subject challenged it, he added.

The government cannot treat both diploma holders and graduates with English as a major subject equally, following the court order.

The department needs about 4,000 English teachers. But that many English graduates are not available. So, the department will try to find a solution to the issue, he said.