CANING is not acceptable legally, socially and morally. It is archaic and outdated. Corporal punishment is embarrassing and demoralising.
Firm discipline and leadership is needed. Guidance must be given to impressionable young children. Any form of discipline or guidance must start from home. Parents should not pass the buck to the government, schools or teachers. It is the duty of parents to discipline their children at home.
Parents know their child's psychological make-up better than teachers in school. They would know the limits of punishment.
Truants students in Terengganu running away after realising they are being photographed. Would the rod be best for them?
Parents today are also different. They are more aware of their rights and they always demand respect. Small wonder that teachers have been manhandled, abused or slapped with civil suits or/and criminal investigations.
Teachers must be equipped fully to handle difficult children. But caning or physical punishment is not one of the methods. We must progress, not regress.
By Twanjunaidi, Kuala Lumpur
Source: New Straits Times Letters to the Editors 10 June 2012
