Pupil loses tooth to corporal punishment

Cabinet reviewed “the children act amendment bill” which provides to criminalise corporal punishment in disciplining children. It has been sent to Ministry of Labour, gender and social development for review before it can be ready for first reading in Parliament.

A 12 year old pupil at a Kampala school and his family are battling school authorities after he lost a tooth to a teacher who subjected him to corporal punishment. The family has reported the matter to police following the injury resulting from a minor infraction during class hours on June 15th.

The boy (names withheld on request), says he arrived in class well on time but before the teacher arrived, another pupil asked to borrow his pen. However, when the teacher arrived in class minutes later his request to have his pen back fell on deaf ears.

Angry at his friend’s stubbornness, the pupils apparently tried to grab the pen back forcefully in the process attracting the teacher’s attention. They were both summoned to the front of the classroom.

Not just the tooth
At first, the two boys were asked to lie down and they complied. They received some strokes of the cake on the buttocks but as they turned to go back to their seats, the teacher asked them to come back. He caned them some more before demanding they apologise. The victim pupil refused while his colleague apologised.

This irritated the teacher who held the boy by the neck and using one of his legs tried to lift the one of his charge’s legs as he pushed his face down. The young man tumbled down falling with his face on the had floor and losing one of his front incisors.

“I was too angry with the teacher for beating me for nothing. He should have asked us to explain. My friend had borrowed my pen and had refused to return it and yet I had to start writing. The teacher pushed me down and I have lost my tooth,” the Primary Five pupil at Makerere Primary School told Education.

When the mother, Ms Gertrude Aroru went to school to find out what had happened, the school authorities told her that the boy had just fallen. The matter was later reported to Makerere Police and a police surgeon’s report indicates that there was gross manhandling.

Police report
“Fresh traumatic extraction of the left upper central incisor tooth and chip fracture of the right upper central incisor tooth which caused grievous harm. There was consistent assault with the bare hands-gross manhandling,” reads the report signed by Nsereko Mukasa, a police officer. But police could not offer more help advising the parent to negotiate with the school authorities for compensation.

The police, in giving the advice said a court process would be tedious and the compensation small arguing that an out of court settlement would make more sense for the victim. But the school has apparently playing a game of hide and seek.

“Police asked me to first negotiate with the school authorities because it would take long in court and we could be given only Shs400, 000n as compensation” the mother told this newspaper.

School head teacher, Irene Waswa declined to give details when Education contacted her, saying the only, “that case was closed. If you want to know details you can contact Makerere Police,” she said.

The incident is one of continuing use of corporal punishment in schools despite the fact that it was outlawed several years ago. According to African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN), physical violence accounts for 81 per cent of children who have been beaten at school despite Ministry of Education’s policy against corporal punishment.

“I think that corporal punishment has become socially acceptable. The society thinks it is normal but this is wrong and must stop,” said Anselm Wandega, ANPPCAN executive director.
Some other 34 per cent children are denied food for extended periods at a time, 82 per cent are made to do difficult work as a form of punishment while 18 per cent have been locked up in a room, ANPPCAN statistic show.

pahimbisibwe@ug.nationmedia.com