GOVERNMENT has banned corporal punishment at schools and warned teachers to stop the practice.
Staff Reporter
Deputy Primary and Secondary Education minister Paul Mavima told Parliament last week that administration of corporal punishment on students was ultra vires provisions of the new Constitution.
Mavima said this during question and answer session after he had been asked by Bulilima East MP Mathias Ndlovu to explain if it was government policy to allow corporal punishment to be administered on schoolchildren in the country.
“The issue of corporal punishment is derived from our Constitution, but we sometimes get conflicted because the statement that the honourable member made has always been part of our culture,” Mavima said.
“However, the position of the Ministry is that teachers are not permitted to mete out corporal punishment, and any case of discipline should be referred to the head of the school so that they can deal with the pupil.”
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However, Article 241 of the Criminal (Codification and Reform) Act and Article 66 of the Education Act (2004) allows for corporal punishment only for boys.
Calls have been made that Zimbabwe’s laws should be urgently aligned with the new constitution to avoid policy inconsistencies.