The Karnataka High Court on Monday asked schools to adopt positive reinforcement over harsh ways to discipline students.
The court observed that harsh disciplinary action against children has an impact on their cognitive development and could be a hindrance to the child’s self-esteem. The court has thus asked for a paradigm shift in reinforcements to students.
These observations were made when a case pertaining to the suicide of a 15-year-old in Kodagu district after the student was suspended for 21 days during his exams. The student died by hanging in October 2022.
In this regard, the principal, director, and hostel warden approached the Karnataka high court against a lower court order about abetment of suicide.
Justice M Nagaprasanna said that institutions must recognize the ills of over-disciplining students so as to save young lives.
“It is not the case with just one student, but ‘even’ one student. Institutions should also recognize that the age-old principles have now changed, I mean ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’ has metamorphosed into ‘spare the rod and teach the child,” he said adding that measures such as suspension and expulsion would not necessarily address the issue of bad behaviour of a child.
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