India unveils anti-beating charter for schools

India on Monday unveiled new guidelines on disciplining children in schools after a survey revealed large-scale corporal punishment meted out by teachers. More than 98 percent of the 6,632 children involved in the survey, who were aged between three and 17, had endured some type of physical punishment at school, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights said. The survey found that "beating with a cane appears to be a preferred method of controlling children... slapping on the cheeks and beating on the back appear as second preferences". Corporal punishment is already outlawed in several Indian states, and the commission said that no teacher should use a cane to hit students. Teachers should instead learn to control students through clear communication commands and temperate language, the new charter advises. "These guidelines will serve as an important tool for sensitization and creating awareness on the subject," Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath told reporters in New Delhi. The survey found that Indian teachers also box ears, pull hair, pinch noses or arms, tie students to chairs and even use electrical shocks to enforce order.