Teachers like Ssengo are a disaster

SIR—Yesterday, you ran a story headlined, “Student caned 100 lashes”. It is a disturbing and incredible story. The deputy headmaster of St. Mary’s SSS Sanje, Francis Ssengo, is reported to have caned Prossy Naluggya, 100 strokes. Sengo suspected the girl to have been involved in an affair with a male student of the same school. He found the girl talking to a male student and she got the brunt of his wrath but interestingly, the boy was not punished! Now this extent of brutality on mere suspicion raises serious questions about the ethical credentials of some individuals in the teaching profession. Teachers are not only employed to teach but also offer guidance to the children they teach. Such corporal punishment and other forms of torture of children cannot even remotely be described as discipline. Ssengo is himself indisciplined! Do school rules prohibit girls talking to boys? There appears to be a connotation of discrimination against the girl child in this unfortunate incident. This, however, is another matter to be taken up.Adults, particularly teachers in this case, should clearly draw a line between discipline and punishment. Discipline can be achieved through civil methods like denial of some privileges, like school entertainment, to the errant children. It can also be reinforced by some form of reward for good behaviour. The idea is to show the children that it is beneficial to behave well. Punishment, like in this particular case is destructive and harmful to children, and is retrogressive to the learning and development process of children. It has physical implications like injuries that can at worst cause death, and at “ best” cause bruises and long-lasting scars and trauma. The children cannot trust such batterers and therefore the learning process gets derailed. And this kind of approach inculcates violent approaches to discipline and conflict resolution since children are still at very formative stages of social growth. And remember that these are tomorrow’s adults. So teachers like Ssengo are actually sowing seeds of a violent batch of future Ugandans.For policy makers in the Ministry of education and Parliament there should be clear standards on issues like these.Moses W. WatasProgramme OfficerResearch and Information ANPPCAN-Uganda Chapter