Teacher: A 15-minute refresher
- Jagdeep S. More, Educationist
Teaching has been considered a noble profession since time immemorable. Of late, the incidents of Muzaffarnagar, Kathua and Kota have done enough wrong to malign this noble profession and have stirred the hornets’ nest forcing teachers to revisit the preambles of teaching-learning.
Forcing classmates to beat a child for not learning homework lessons, beating a child for writing a religious slogan on a blackboard and pressurising children to the extent of committing suicide are the greatest sins happening to this pious institution of implanting education. It’s high time teachers should unlearn their age-old definition of being a teacher where they can do anything left, right and centre with a child and relearn the new modern definition of being a teacher where she/he is a facilitator cum counsellor and is responsible for the overall development of a child not merely confined to her/his subject. Teachers should come out of their preconceived notions of being hard taskmasters and governing by the rule of the stick.
Teachers can use this talisman whenever they are in doubt. In the school where I worked last, a Physical Education teacher, (although a very efficient employee) hit a student who was misbehaving and the issue went up to the director of the school. The septuagenarian director called the PHE teacher and asked for an explanation. After hearing his passionate justification, the director asked politely, “Sir, are you a bigger authority than the Supreme Court of India?”. The PHE teacher was speechless and understood his wrongdoing. The magnanimous director preserved an efficient teacher and also gave him a lesson for life.
All the teachers can ask themselves the Yaksha Prashna of the director, “Are they a bigger authority than the Supreme Court of India?” If not, then why do they want to cross the Lakshman Rekha?
Let all of us teachers take fifteen precious minutes from our daily schedule and revisit the guidelines ordained by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in eliminating corporal punishments in schools and some important laws concerned with child safety to make ourselves better teachers.
Physical punishment is understood as any action that causes pain, hurt/injury and discomfort to a child, however light. Examples of physical punishment include but are not restricted to the following:
1. Causing physical harm to children by hitting, kicking, scratching, pinching, biting, pulling the hair, boxing ears, smacking, slapping, spanking or with any implement (cane, stick, shoe, chalk, dusters, belt, whip, giving electric shock etc.);
2. Making children assume an uncomfortable position (standing on a bench, standing against the wall in a chair-like position, standing with a schoolbag on the head, holding ears through legs, kneeling etc.);
3. Forced ingestion of anything (for example washing soap, mud, chalk, hot spices etc.);
4. Detention in the classroom, library, toilet or any closed space in the school.
Mental harassment is understood as any non-physical treatment that is detrimental to the academic and psychological well-being of a child. It includes but is not restricted to the following:
1. Sarcasm that hurts or lowers the child’s dignity;
2. Calling names and scolding using humiliating adjectives, intimidation;
3. Using derogatory remarks for the child, including pinning of slogans;
4. Ridiculing the child with regard to her background or status or parental occupation or caste;
5. Ridiculing the child with regard to her health status or that of the family – especially HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis;
6. Belittling a child in the classroom due to his/her inability to meet the teacher’s expectations of academic achievement;
7. Punishing or disciplining a child not recognising that most children who perform poorly in academics are actually children with special needs. Such children could have conditions like learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mild developmental delay etc.;
8. Using punitive measures to correct a child and even labelling him/her as difficult; such as a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who may not only fare poorly in academics but also pose a problem in the management of classroom behaviours;
9. ‘Shaming’ the child to motivate the child to improve his performance;
10. Ridiculing a child with developmental problems such as learning difficulty or a speech disorder, such as stammering or speech articulation disorder.
Discrimination is understood as prejudiced views and behaviour towards any child because of her/his caste/gender, occupation or region and non-payment of fees or for being a student admitted under the 25% reservation to disadvantaged groups or weaker sections of society under the RTE, 2009. It can be latent; manifest; open or subtle. It includes but is not restricted to the following:
1. Bringing social attitudes and prejudices of the community into the school by using belittling remarks against a specific social group or gender or ability/disability;
2. Assigning different duties and seating in schools based on caste, community or gender prejudices (for example, cleaning of toilets assigned by caste; the task of making tea assigned by gender); admission through 25% reserved seats under the RTE; or non-payment of any prescribed fees;
3. Commenting on academic ability based on caste or community prejudices;
4. Denying mid-day meals or library books or uniforms or sports facilities to a child or group of children based on caste, community, religion or gender;
5. Deliberate/wanton neglect.
THE JUVENILE JUSTICE (CARE AND PROTECTION OF CHILDREN) ACT, 2015
Chapter IX of the JJ Act 2015 clearly mentions that no report in any newspaper, magazine, news sheet, audio-visual media or other forms of communication regarding any investigation or judicial procedure, shall disclose the name, address or school’s name or any other particular, which may lead to the identification of a child in conflict with law or a child in need of care and protection or a child victim or witness of a crime, involved in such matter, under any other law for the time being in force, nor shall the picture of any such child be published.
Any person contravening the above provisions shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or a fine which may extend to two lakh rupees or both.
This is a very important provision and every teacher should understand the importance and implication of this section. Any casual act of uploading a picture/video of a child on social media platforms can severely impact the well-being of a child. Teachers should resist being social media activists/influencers in matters of child safety.
Teachers should understand the sanctity of their position by reading Section 23 of the JJ Act which covers the actions of anyone who has “actual charge or control over” a child. While Section 23 is likely to be applied most often to personnel in childcare institutions regulated by the JJ Act, it arguably applies to cruelty by anyone in a position of authority over a child, which would include parents, guardians, teachers and employers.
THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL OFFENCES (POCSO) ACT, 2012
Chapter II: Sexual Offences Against Children:- A person is said to commit "penetrative sexual assault" if:
(a) he penetrates his penis, to any extent, into the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus of a child or makes the child to do so with him or any other person;
(b) he inserts, to any extent, any object or a part of the body, not being the penis, into the vagina, the urethra or anus of the child or makes the child to do so with him or any other person;
(c) he manipulates any part of the body of the child so as to cause penetration into the vagina, urethra, anus or any part of body of the child or makes the child to do so with him or any other person;
(d) he applies his mouth to the penis, vagina, anus, urethra of the child or makes the child to do so to such person or any other person.
Whoever commits penetrative sexual assault shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.
SEXUAL ASSAULT AND PUNISHMENT THEREFORE
Whoever, with sexual intent touches the vagina, penis, anus or breast of the child or makes the child touch the vagina, penis, anus or breast of such person or any other person, or does any other act with sexual intent which involves physical contact without penetration is said to commit sexual assault.
Whoever commits sexual assault, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND PUNISHMENT THEREFORE
A person is said to commit sexual harassment upon a child when such person with sexual intent,—
(i) utters any word or makes any sound, or makes any gesture or exhibits any object or part of body with the intention that such word or sound shall be heard, or such gesture or object or part of body shall be seen by the child;
(ii) makes a child exhibit his body or any part of his body so as it is seen by such person or any other person;
(iii) shows any object to a child in any form or media for pornographic purposes;
(iv) repeatedly or constantly follows or watches or contacts a child either directly or through electronic, digital or any other means;
(v) threatens to use, in any form of media, a real or fabricated depiction through electronic, film or digital or any other mode, of any part of the body of the child or the involvement of the child in a sexual act;
Whoever commits sexual harassment upon a child shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
The teachers who are indulged in coaching and mentoring students for competitive examinations should refrain from portraying that there is no life beyond these examinations. Either you make it into the merit list or perish should not be the gospel truth.
Vikas Attry who is a renowned psychologist and counsellor postulates that teachers should involve parents at every point of school life. For parents, they have one/two children but for teachers, they have forty/fifty children in a classroom as their own. A teacher can’t be with a student for 24 hours but she/he has to be vigilant enough to notice a slight change in a child’s behaviour. S/he should bring it immediately to the notice of the school management and parents. It is not the job of a school counsellor exclusively to notice such changes. Every teacher has to be proactive and diligent enough to take the bull by its horns.
Teachers should not emphasise the supremacy of their own religious beliefs and ideology over the students. S/he should try to be neutral and refrain from showing her/his inclinations towards any faith/sect/belief or rituals. Every child has a right to practice the religion of his/her choice. Religious talks inside the classroom should be to promote harmony, brotherhood and the rich culture of the country rather than breeding hatred.
Higher secondary teachers and the mentors of coaching classes should also understand the adolescent factors and relationship concerns arising at that age. Teachers should hold back from indulging in grapevine and promoting rumour-mongering within the campus. They should not stigmatise students but rather make them aware of the larger consequences of the same on their education, examination results, future career, family status and society.
Teachers must understand the fact that any wrongdoing on their part can severally malign the brand image of the institution. The management would not like to be a part of media trials, social media mockery, police actions and court cases. Recent cases like the arrest of Symbiosis Pune teacher Ashok Sopan Dhole and the sacking of Unacademy teacher Karan Sangwan prove the point. The management would prefer to show the doors to such teachers (no matter how good they are) rather than indulging in prolonged actions.
