Lagos Govt says flogging children, corporal punishment a crime
By Samuel Ogunsona
Flogging students or corporal punishment is a crime according to the laws of Lagos the State Government has said.
The Lagos Government said the authority of Lagos abhors flogging of children or any corporal punishment adding that the state has put a stop to it in public and private schools.
The Director in the Ministry of Education Mrs. Adumasi Bosede who spoke on behalf of the state government said flogging or corporal punishment stunts the potential of students and fuels violence in the society.
She spoke at the scientific conference of the Association of Resident Doctors, Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Yaba in Lagos State on Wednesday.
The focus of the conference was “Corporal Punishment in the Modern African Setting”, with the Sub-theme: Examining the Scientific Evidence behind Corporal Punishment”
She said “the scientific conference is one of the programmes used by the association to identify, discuss and proffer solutions to burning issues in the society through the help of seasoned experts and professionals in the medical field.”
The Lagos State Government said corporal punishment is any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pains or discomfort, however light on the receiver.
She said the Lagos State Government is worried about corporal punishment in schools and homes which he said has negative outcomes.
She said the State Government is outraged especially in cases where corporal punishment has led to the death of students.
“There had been occasions whereby corporal punishment given by a teacher to a child either in form of flogging or bullying had eventually led to the death of the child, thereby implicating the teacher,” she said.
According to her to avert such ugly incidents, including other negative effects of corporal punishment; there is a policy in Lagos State prohibiting teachers from inflicting corporal punishment on students and pupils in schools.
She said good and well trained teachers use alternative ways to discipline and correct children, which are being adopted in schools
The President of Association of Reaident Doctors, Dr. Samuel Aladejare said corporal punishment is one of the burning issues in Nigerian schools and homes today.
Dr. Tolulope Bella-Awusah, Head of Department, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, UCH, Ibadan, said that corporal punishment is bad for the mental health and brain functioning of a child.
Bella-Awusah, ala Guest Speaker said what children needed was counselling and not punishment.
The conference identified corporal punishment qs slapping, spanking, bullying, flogging, striking, and pinching.
“Scientifically, using corporal punishment such as flogging or beating is not an effective way to correct children, because it makes them to be aggressive, drug abusers, or stubborn in life.
“So, there is no need to beat children to correct them because its effects will manifest later in their lives,” she said.
A consultant psychiatrist at the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Dr. Olugbenga Owoeye, noted that denial of privileges are better ways to correct and discipline children.