Societal Context and Corporal Punishment in Schools: Toward Equitable Education and Positive Outcomes

Corporal punishment (CP) and other forms of physical and verbal punishment have received scant attention in contemporary academic discourse in India. The country boasts a very forward-looking regulatory framework provided by the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) 2009, that bans such punishment from schools and aims to create a positive learning environment for children. However, CP was legal in Delhi as per the Delhi Education Act 1973. RTE 2009 was adapted in Delhi in 2011. What is notable is that the practice of CP remains widespread in government schools. Private schools vary widely in quality from the elite to lesser-known budget schools accessible to lower-income parents. CP is rarely studied in this context and deserves attention. Elimination of CP and negative reinforcements is imperative for a positive learning environment in schools leading to equitable education. There is scant objective data on CP in Indian schools. Instead, this lecture is based on anecdotal evidence collected from teacher educators, trainees and students and refers to a handful of prior research on the topic. This lecture highlights just a small part of the overall issue—a complex web with many facets and several actors, while it opens up an area for future research.