Teachers Need an Education in Compassion

Several instances of horrifying corporal punishments and discriminatory treatment against students were reported in multiple states in the country in August. In Rajasthan, a Class 10 student took his own life after alleged casteist harassment from two teachers in his school. In Uttar Pradesh, a viral video showed a teacher ordering other students in the class to repeatedly slap a seven–year–old student, with the teacher allegedly offering communal justifications for ordering such a heinous punishment on the child. In Jammu and Kashmir, a teacher allegedly beat up a student for writing a religious slogan on the blackboard. While in Gujarat, although not a case of corporal punishment per se, a student topper was allegedly denied her first prize at an awards ceremony in the school solely because of her religious identity, where the school authorities instead awarded the prize to a student who came second.

Such instances of corporal punishments and discrimination based on gender, caste, and religion in Indian primary and secondary schools are shocking and shameful, although not unprecedented. Schools and colleges in India have historically witnessed several instances where students (and their parents) have had to face the harmful consequences of the dyed–in–the–wool attitudes of certain teachers. What is important to underline here is that the discriminatory and even repressive attitude shown by certain teachers in India is a reflection of broader societal beliefs.