The Nigerian government has pledged to ban corporal punishment/maltreatment alongside N112.18 billion investments for national safe schools financing from 2024 to 2026, aimed at protecting teachers and preventing violence against children to accelerate action towards delivering Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.2.

Corporal punishment is the most prevalent form of childhood violence at home and in schools, and the government plans to undertake a national Violence against Children (VAC) survey to generate data that would inform legislative policy and programmatic interventions on VAC by 2030.

If banning corporal punishment because of the latest happenings that surround it would make our educational system better, it is a welcome idea, but if that would also create more disobedient students, then we need to rethink. This report highlights the different opinions of parents, school administrators, and education officers of different levels.

On October 15, a student identified as Monday Arijo died after undergoing corporal punishment administered by a teacher. The teacher, Azamdjo Elijah, was said to have administered whips of the cane and an undisclosed number of “frog leaps” as punishment.

The teacher found guilty has been suspended, while an investigating panel has been created to take responsibility for the tragic incident.

Many schools and homes make use of corporal punishment to ‘train’ the child from going astray. Till today, many Nigerian homes use the cane to flog their children, which has recorded significant success in decreasing a child’s disobedience at home and at school.

While the debate is ongoing, many parents would rather prefer the continuous use of corporal punishment, arguing that the only effective way to train a child in recent times is through its use.

Mr. Rasak Adegboyega, a father of two boys, who resides in Isolo, said, “Nigeria has not got to the level where we stop using corporal punishment; for now, the society is getting worse by the day, and some children need an iron hand to train them.”

For parents like him, there is no end in sight for corporal punishment, and many other parents would agree with him.

READ ALSO:National Safe School: Nigeria to invest N112.18b, ban corporal punishment

An education officer, level 12, Mr. Raheem Adekoya, said punishment of any kind is not a good thing, and there are better ways to handle students. But sometimes sparing the rod totally may spoil the child.

“We can see the society today, no regard anymore, children no longer respect their elders. In fact, the teaching profession is now becoming difficult by the day, and the kind of different rules that now bind the teacher, yet we must produce doctors and lawyers, with tied hands,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Philip Ifegwazi, a parent, said, “There are better ways to train and raise a child rather than using the cane to draw marks on their body. I don’t support such, and any teacher who does that to my child would find themselves to blame.”

Mrs. Adeyemi, a former teacher now based abroad, said, “Back in Nigeria, one of the major ways we raised our children was through the cane, especially when they were still young. But having experienced a different climate, I can only say that Nigeria’s system can do better to equip our schools with good counselors and enough updated instructional materials to teach. Teachers now vex their frustrations on these children, while many of these children came from faulty foundations too.”

According to WHO, nine in 10 children still live in countries where prevalent forms of childhood violence, such as corporal punishment or even sexual abuse and exploitation, are not yet prohibited. Nigeria is one of these countries.

Some of the states that have banned corporal punishment include Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, and Katsina, even though some schools in these states still practice it.

The Guardian reported that corporal punishment affects three out of every five children regularly in their homes, and about one billion are estimated to suffer some form of violence, such as child maltreatment, bullying, physical or emotional abuse, and sexual violence.

Six education officers from different education districts spoke to The Guardian about corporal punishment. Four of these individuals prefer corporal punishment not to be banned but rather to be applied with caution. Two others believe it is an outdated method of raising students and that the educational system has grown beyond such methods of inflicting pain on stubborn children.

Meanwhile, of the 10 parents who spoke to The Guardian about corporal punishment, six prefer to go in line with the cautious application of corporal punishment, arguing that it should not be totally wiped out of the system.

Four of these parents said it should be out, and no child deserves to go through any form of pain, from anyone, even their biological parents.

While criminalising learners is not the right thing to do, schools must have the necessary tools needed to raise students appropriately. In the absence of these vital tools, like counselors and physical and health education departments that are well-furnished, then the end of corporal punishment may not be in sight.

“Even principals are not free; students now gang up to beat teachers. The system believes teachers are centered in the act of learning, but parents nowadays want it to be child-centered, copying the western world hook, line, and sinker. Even our various religions do not condemn corporal punishment in total. My submission here is to maintain a middle point. If, at all, there would be punishment, then it should be in line with the crime of the learner,” education officer, level XIII, Tijani, told The Guardian.