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You don’t want to study? You are not interested in school? We have the perfect solution. Let us chain you up!

I was shocked looking at the news channel today to see a young boy in chains – with his legs cuffed and so were his hands. And he was carried by the police with the help of a few locals. I was wondering what this news item could be. An alleged slave? Someone who was punished for doing something harsh? The face was morphed and I was thinking it might be a cruel punishment meted out to a prisoner. Turns out – it was a 10 year old boy. A young kid being chained.

And the reason?- Well he was not studying! And he tried to flee.

The Place – Guess?! It was the school, the Madarasa in which the boy studied.

The Reason – He tried to flee and hence he was chained like an animal.

Corporal Punishment

A couple of years ago, I remember reading about corporal punishments and it sure was a huge issue and naturally so. People from all walks came in support of the ban on corporal punishment and it seemed the right thing to do. At that point – my view of corporal punishment was hitting with a cane on knuckles, making someone stand up on the bench, humiliating him/her in front of the entire class, making them run the playground 5-6 times. That was the maximum extent I could think of, Nothing more.

But this, it was insane.

Why was he chained?

The only answer I could see in the entire interview or the news clip was that he was chained since he tried to flee along with a few others. And the boy did not try to flee because he was feeling bored. He tried to flee to avoid the teacher hitting him with a cane. Naturally the young kid was afraid and wanted to run away. I would do the same too. Or rather I would try to hit him back now that I am a little older. But as a child, my god this entire situation is unspeakable of to say the least!

Course of Action

This matter has to be dealt with a lot of seriousness and I believe that the perpetrator should be brought to justice. This is highly unacceptable that someone treats a fellow human being like that. Mercy is one thing, but what happened here was beyond mercy. If I were to go by the Hammurabi principle of “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” I would rather have the teacher chained in public and left in the sun to face the same. But I guess we live in a kinder world today, at the least I am expecting that the man would be fined heavily and sentenced to jail.

Education

If a child is not studying, force is certainly the easiest way to go. But if a boy is not studying it is a direct reflection on the teacher as well. Simply stated – he is not doing his job properly. Sure, he can raise his voice once in a while to bring some order into the chaos but I think that is the extent of punishment. Nothing more than that. Education never was about mugging up a few facts, clearing a few exams and being an idiot at the end of the day.

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