Who is a “CHILD”?

According to international law, a ‘child’ means every human being below the age of 18 years. This is a universally accepted definition of a child and comes from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), an international legal instrument accepted and ratified by most countries.

India has always recognised the category of persons below the age of 18 years as distinct legal entity. That is precisely why people can vote or get a driving license or enter into legal contracts only when they attain the age of 18 years. Marriage of a girl below the age of 18 years and a boy below 21 years is restrained under the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929. Moreover, after ratifying the UNCRC in 1992, India changed its law on juvenile justice to ensure that every person below the age of 18 years, who is in need of care and protection, is entitled to receive it from the State.

There are, however, other laws that define a child differently and are yet to be brought in conformity with the UNCRC. But, as stated earlier, the legal understanding of the age of maturity is 18 for girls and 21 for boys.

This means all persons in your village/town/city below the age of 18 years have to be treated as children and need your assistance and support.

What makes a person a ‘child’ is the person’s ‘age.’ Even if a person under the age of 18 years is married and has children of her/his own, she/he is recognized as a child according to international standards.

Key points

All persons below the age of 18 are children.
Childhood is a process through which every human being passes.
Children have different experiences during childhood.
All children need to be protected from abuse and exploitation.

What are the Child Rights?

All people under the age of 18 are entitled to the standards and rights guaranteed by the laws that govern our country and the international legal instruments we have accepted by ratifying them.
The Constitution of India guarantees all children certain rights, which have been specially included for them. These include:
Right to free and compulsory elementary education for all children in the 6-14 year age group (Article 21 A).
Right to be protected from any hazardous employment till the age of 14 years (Article 24).
Right to be protected from being abused and forced by economic necessity to enter occupations unsuited to their age or strength (Article 39(e)).
Right to equal opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and guaranteed protection of childhood and youth against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment (Article 39 (f)).

Why do children need special attention?

Children are more vulnerable than adults to the conditions under which they live.
Hence, they are more affected than any other age group by the actions and inaction of governments and society.
In most societies, including ours, views persist that children are their parents’ property, or are adults in the making, or are not yet ready to contribute to society.
Children are not seen as people who have a mind of their own, a view to express, the capacity to make a choice and an ability to decide.
Instead of being guided by adults, their life is decided by adults.
Children have no votes or political influence and little economic power. Too often, their voices are not heard.
Children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?

The most significant of all international laws for children is the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, popularly referred to as the CRC. This, together with our Indian Constitution and Laws, determine what rights all children must have.

Human rights belong to all people, regardless of their age, including children. However, because of their special status - whereby children need extra protection and guidance from adults - children also have some special rights of their own. These are called children’s rights and they are laid out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Significant features of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

Applies equally to both girls and boys up to the age of 18, even if they are married or already have children of their own.
The convention is guided by the principles of ‘Best Interest of the Child’ and ‘Non-discrimination’ and ‘Respect for views of the child.’
It emphasises the importance of the family and the need to create an environment that is conducive to the healthy growth and development of children.
It obligates the state to respect and ensure that children get a fair and equitable deal in society.

It draws attention to four sets of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights:

Survival
Protection
Development
Participation

Right to Survival includes

Right to life.
The highest attainable standard of health.
Nutrition.
Adequate standard of living.
A name and a nationality.

Right to Development includes

Right to education.
Support for early childhood care and development.
Social security.
Right to leisure, recreation and cultural activities.

Right to Protection includes freedom from all forms of

Exploitation.
Abuse.
Inhuman or degrading treatment.
Neglect.
Special protection in special circumstances such as situations of emergency and armed conflicts, in case of disability etc.

Right to Participation includes

Respect for the views of the child.
Freedom of expression.
Access to appropriate information.
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

All rights are dependent on each other and are indivisible. However, because of their nature all rights are divided into:

Immediate Rights (Civil and Political Rights) which include such things as discrimination, punishment, right to a fair hearing in criminal cases and a separate system of juvenile justice, right to life, right to nationality, right to re-unification with the family.

Most protection rights fall within the category of immediate rights and therefore demand immediate attention and intervention.

Progressive Rights (Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), which include health and education and the rights that are not covered by the first category.

They are recognised in the CRC under Article 4, which states: “With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, State Parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international co-operation.”

Note: Children acquire different capacities and degrees of maturity as they grow older. This does not mean they require no protection if they are 15 or 16 years old. For instance, children in our country are made to marry and work under the age of 18. But they should not receive less protection because the community feels they have matured. They must receive the very best protection, opportunities and help in order to ensure them the best start in life on their journey to adulthood.

Besides these they also have rights as equal citizens of India, just as any other adult male or female:Right to equality (Article 14).Right against discrimination (Article 15).Right to personal liberty and due process of law (Article 21).Right to being protected from being trafficked and forced into bonded labour (Article 23).Right of weaker sections of the people to be protected from social injustice and all forms of exploitation (Article 46).The State must:Make special provisions for women and children (Article 15 (3)).Protect interest of minorities (Article 29).Promote educational interests of weaker sections of the people (Article 46).Raise the level of nutrition and standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health (Article 47).Besides the Constitution, there are several laws that specifically apply to children. As responsible teachers and citizens, it is advisable that you are aware of them and their significance. These have been described in different sections of this booklet along with the issues they deal with.

Children Care

Children brought up in a good atmosphere, are of good behaviour and they can better handle any situation successfully. The atmosphere for a child involves the family, peers, teachers and school. Proper socialization is a must for a child’s proper development. The primary socializing agents are the parents and teachers by whom the child’s character formation takes place. Academic achievement of a child is not the sole deciding factor for the successful living of a child, but it is just one of the factors that determine the success or failure. But in the present scenario, undue importance is given to the academic achievement, ignoring the social and emotional development of the child. Hence, the children become the ultimate victim of the misjudgment. Therefore, to handle the children carefully and to nourish them in social and emotional competence, the Parent and Teachers Association has to be used as a common platform to nourish the children for a better citizen of tomorrow.

Academic excellence

Academic performance of children varies from child to child to a greater level. Therefore, a class room is a heterogeneous unit which is a mix of gifted children and slow learners. Many children have problems in the specific areas of reading, writing and mathematics namely, dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia respectively. These learning disabilities cannot be treated but it can be better managed with the help of teachers and parents to achieve academic excellence. But, both teachers and parents are not aware of these learning disabilities. Once the teachers get to know about these learning disabilities, they can identify the children with such problems in learning easily and change the teaching methods accordingly. For remedial teaching, a teacher has to take extra effort. On the other hand, the parents have to accept the disability of their children and deal with them accordingly.

Perception of Parents:

The academic goal of these children must be realistic and achievable. Parents can have their ambition with themselves and not on their children. In most of the cases, the parents expect more from their children by comparing with other children. Due to the cruel treatment of children for academic progress, their behaviour pattern changes aggressively and their scholastic achievement drops suddenly. Children are not parent’s extension but they are individuals. Parents don't know the real truth. Academic achievement is not the only deciding factor for the successful living of a child, but it is one of the factors that determine the success or failure. Hence, Parents should:

Understand the needs, feeling and expectation of each child.
Be impartial and not compare children with others.
Be comfortable, free, and friendly with the children.
Avoid discussing about the child in their presence.

Perception of Teachers:

Teachers are not willing to accept that a child that can “look normal” can still have learning disabilities. Many of them feel that the child “is lazy”, “a born shirker”, “careless and inattentive”, even after they have been exposed on learning disabilities. Contrarily, they harass and punish the child for better academic performance. But, the teachers must take great responsibility in providing remedial help for children with learning disabilities. On the other hand, it is frequently observed in the recent dailies that teachers are being charged by the parents for the curial treatment against the students and for which, some of the teachers were transferred, suspended and taken legal action against them. Contrarily, the teachers argue that “children are being punished with the good intention of better academic achievement of the children”. When the teachers are being punished, for their cruelty on children, the response of the teachers is not a desired outcome of positive change. Further, they become a rule oriented employee rather than a performance oriented teacher. To make the teacher-student's relation effective the teacher should:

Be positive.
Avoid punishment.
Be a good listener and encourage the children.
Take great responsibility in providing remedial help.

Social Development

Like physical competence, social competence plays a vital role for an individual’s successful life. Where friends, peers, media have a greater influence over the children. So, children must be provided with necessary space to deal with their peers and relatives to gain social competence. This must be provided with proper guidance. In the socialization process, children have to accept many things they don't like and have to face new situations and incidents.

Role of Parents:

Parents are the role model for the children and they have to be comfortable, free, and friendly with the children. Parents play a pivotal role in shaping children’s values and goals. They should make sure that the goals are realistic and not fantasy oriented. Parents should also guide the children to face a lot of challenges in daily life and insist moral values in the children.

Role of Teachers:

Teachers play an important role in the character formation of a child. Children consciously or unconsciously start to imitate their teachers. If the teachers are of good character and behaviour, children can be become good. If a teacher is adjusting with many situations and tackles many situation well, their students also try to emulate it. So a teacher should be a good model. Teachers should promote life skill to the children to face the society. They can create a healthy and favourable environment in school.

Emotional Development

Emotion is a common factor in every one’s mind. We have different counts of emotions to different people. There are many factors which control our emotions. Teacher and parents play an effective role in emotional development. Fear, anger, jealousy and love are some of common emotions of children. These emotions play an important role in the emotional development of a child. But some factors viz., tiredness, health, intelligence, societal circumstances and family relations affect the emotional development of a child.

Role of Parents:

Children not only need basic needs like food, water, shelter but also beyond that:

Children need some one to talk to and share their goals, hopes and problems. Parents should interact with their children daily.
Another important need of children is to have good friends since friends can make vast and drastic changes in the life of children. Children seek persons of similar likes and dislikes, wishes etc., to mingle with. A proverb says “bad companies ruin good character”; hence parents should supervise closely the child’s peer group.
Children need a sense of “Identity”- a set of unique traits that distinguish one child from the other. Children are unique and have their own sense of expressing themselves. Hence the parents should encourage them and inculcate right principles to their children.

Role of Teachers:

Emotional development of a child is based on his studies experiences, intelligence and maturity. Teachers are taking into consideration only the intelligence but they hardly consider the emotional factors. They miss to handle introverts and extroverts as they deserve to be treated accordingly. The teacher should allow and also encourage them to express their own talents creatively for that the deep study over every child is important.

Intervention Platform

Parent Teacher Association is a common platform for bringing the teachers and parents to a better understanding of handling the children with care. Home-school relationship improves the development of child in social, emotional, and academic achievement. Parents Teacher Association offers the home-school relations that help to create.

A better understanding between parents and teacher concerning what children are like.
A better understanding with regard to what is education.
Opportunities for parents to meet other parents and learn from their experience.
Understanding of the new technique of child-rearing and training practices.

If these goals are to be achieved, the children will have to be nourished in a children-friendly atmosphere at school and home.

According to Sigmund Freud “Any Child’s later years is determined by its own experiences during its childhood “. Scoff, a famous child psychologist stated that “children from good family atmosphere are of good behaviour and they can adjust with anyone and children from bad family background won’t try to communicate and adjust with people”. Hence, child has a character of imitation. It tries to do what it sees in its social environment. The social environment involves all the person the child meets in its life. It includes family, school and peer group.Likewise proper socialization is must for a child’s proper development. The primary socializing agent is the family. This is where the child character formation takes place. The Secondary socializing agent is the school environment. This is where children spend their first part of life. Therefore school acts as a new society for them. For better growth and overall development of a child three areas namely, Academic excellence, Social development and Emotional development are very much important to be taken into consideration while nurturing.

Guidelines for positive engagement with children:

Punishment is often justified as a ‘last’ resort in extreme situations for instance – bullying, causing physical harm, destruction of property, vandalism, sexual harassment, infringement of rules such as playing truant, carrying objects which are against school rules into the classroom, provocative/ challenging behaviours etc. However, two children with the same problems may come from different backgrounds – one an indulgent family, which believes that a little exuberance is all right, and another where the family is also at its wits’ end. The contexts in which a child’s behaviour takes place and how it comes to notice, lend themselves to child/classroom/school management.
A protocol of response based on first versus repeated problems founded on a set of rules the school develops with children’s inputs would go a long way to democratise response dispositions. To this, an added component of preventive interventions, such as life-skills programme, increases overall effectiveness.
A difficult situation can also be resolved by a process of triangulation between the student/family, the teacher/school administration and a student council. A more difficult situation then may not be so much a discipline issue but a psychological one that needs professional attention and care.
The following guidelines are based on therapeutic strategies based in turn on the principles discussed above that are commonly employed by mental health professionals in clinical settings for families with children with behaviour disorders. Though simple, these are effective strategies when implemented consistently:
Arriving at a consensus with children about expected behaviour and consequences;
Framing rules and guidelines in consensus with children;
Focusing on every child’s positives and appreciating good behaviour;
Using different strategies to encourage and promote positive behaviours;
Never comparing one child’s performance with another;
Setting limits and developing clarity on boundaries;
Providing children an opportunity to explain before any other response;
Giving a warning or chance before any response;
Actively listening, remaining calm and ensuring the safety of other children while handling troublesome or offensive behaviour;
Addressing perceived ‘severe or problematic behaviour’ through consultation with parents, child and counsellor/psychiatrist;
Discussing (with children) and adopting time-out strategy as the last resort with children.

Positive engagement with children - some examples:

Pay positive attention

Notice children being good and appreciate them verbally
Focus on the positives of every child, even the most difficult ones
Identify good efforts even if ultimately unsuccessful
Never compare performance with that of other children but refer to the child’s own previous attempt
Use motivational award chart (for younger children) or points or additional marks for good behaviour
Award children for demonstrating values such as responsibility, honesty, caring, etc.
Be accommodating of children who require additional time and input, while providing additional tasks to children who finish work earlier

Ignore minor incidents or lapses

This is the best strategy; the situation may aggravate in the short-term but it disappears later

Set clear limits

Explain clearly the classroom behaviour expectations that the children have framed together
Use ‘I need you to ...’ rather than ‘You need to ...’ statements
Give clear commands on what is expected, e.g., ‘stay quiet’ instead of ‘be good’
Avoid ‘Don’t’ commands
Enable children to set clear limits for themselves
Use a ‘firm and calm’ manner – avoid an angry tone

If behaviour continues

Take away privileges in consultation with the children (negative reinforcement – this encourages the child to follow good behaviour to keep his privilege, therefore it is not considered punishment)
Do not give star/point/mark on his chart for the day or give negative point/marks
Take away 15 minutes of any privilege time (child and teacher mutually agree) for recurrent misbehaviours
Discuss the consequences well ahead with children so that there is consensus regarding plan of action when a particular behaviour occurs
The negative reinforcement should be appropriate and fair
It should be consistently employed

Recognize that the child needs help and not punishment:

Children’s temperament interacts with multiple environmental factors such as parenting style; disciplinary patterns at home and school; stress such as marital disharmony, domestic violence, etc. Many children are not ready or prepared for the demands of the school in terms of academics, social and interpersonal relationships. It is therefore important to try and understand what could be causing the behaviour as underlying emotional problems often result in disruptive behaviour in children. It is also necessary to provide opportunities for children from different backgrounds to learn psychosocial skills. When adults view problem behaviours of a child as a product of interaction of various psycho-social and biological factors it helps to understand that the child needs help rather than punishment.

Rights and enablement of the teaching community:

Preventive strategies should take priority while planning interventions to improve the teacher student relationship and create a child-friendly environment in schools. While addressing corporal punishment, mental harassment and discrimination it is also essential to provide guidelines and assistance to school systems and empower them with alternative effective strategies to handle difficult situations, and provide children with a good learning experience. To this end, regular/ periodic workshops are essential for teachers to share their experiences and learn from each other and from experts who could help them manage difficult situations. However, ending corporal punishment should be seen as an immediate obligation, with clear sanctions for non-compliance, and separated from the inevitably much longer process of transforming schools to rights-respecting institutions.
The school should maintain the student-teacher ratio at the level as prescribed under the RTE Act, 2009, in order to avoid overcrowding and unmanageable class, leading to the practice of corporal punishment.

Rights and enablement of children in school:

A child’s participation in a democratic fashion to enable a collective decision should provide a better end-result rather than arbitrary, random, unpredictable decisions that are imposed on a child. There is a shift of focus onto enablement and engagement processes, to ensure prevention and protection.
Guidelines should be framed in consensus with children and can be adopted by school systems. Involving the children in the processes of framing the regulations gives an opportunity for them to discuss their concerns, view the problems from different perspectives and generate a sense of commitment to follow the regulations rather than impose the regulations upon them.

Need for multi-disciplinary intervention:

There is a need for multi-disciplinary inputs and networking as no sector of child abuse can be treated as independent of other sectors. Psychologists, educationists, school teachers, parents, social workers, lawyers and children should be involved so as to improve their understanding and thereby increase their cooperation and participation towards the well-being and participation of the child.

Positive engagement – Life-skills education:

Life-skills education should be an essential part of school curriculum.
Life-skills education should be used as a mode of healing. It helps children to improve their communication and interpersonal skills, builds empathy, decision-making and critical-thinking skills, coping as well as self-management skills. The interplay between the skills produces powerful behavioural outcomes, especially where this approach is supported by other strategies such as media policies and health services.
Life-skills education should address issues of self-esteem, aggression, drug abuse, lack of praxis in academic engagement, lack of engagement in education, decision-making, problem-solving, coping with emotions, coping with stress, communication skills – negotiation/refusal skills, interpersonal skills, creative thinking, critical thinking, self-awareness skills – including awareness of rights, influences, values, attitudes, strengths and weaknesses.
Appropriately implemented life-skills education should lead to improvements that have long-term effects on the behaviour of children.
Experiential methodologies such as theatre, narratives, storytelling and artwork helps children learn better. It helps all children participate in and contribute equally to the production of knowledge, which is a continuous dialogue. The objective of the process is to liberate participants from both internal and external oppression, so as to make them capable of changing their reality, their lives, and the society they live in.

Role of school management/administration:

All staff associated with the school should be subject to these guidelines.
All staff should ensure that all children enjoy their rights as per the RTE Act.
All forms of interaction with children and amongst children should be geared towards ensuring this objective. All staff should ensure that the child is treated in a manner that encourages him or her to stay in school and learn to his or her potential.
To achieve the aims of RTE it should be recognised that teachers are not in loco parentis. In other words teachers should not take on the role of parent.
No physical punishment of any kind should be permitted.
No mental harassment of any kind should be permitted. No form of discrimination based on gender, caste, class, disability, etc., should be permitted.
Any instance of corporal punishment, mental harassment or discrimination should be dealt with in a time-bound manner in such a way that implications for the child are minimised.
It should be the responsibility of all staff to create an environment free of all forms of fear, trauma, prejudice and discrimination.
The treatment of the child in the school should be such that the child feels included and secure. Counselling services for children should be made available.

Guidelines for creating an environment conducive to learning as well as enablement for the same:

All children should be informed through campaigns and publicity drives that they have a right to speak against physical punishments, mental harassment and discrimination and bring it to the notice of the authorities. They should be given confidence to make complaints and not accept punishment as a ‘normal’ activity of the school.
The conduct of the teacher and administration should be such that it fosters a spirit of inclusion, care and nurturing.
All school management and educational administration authorities should run regular training programmes to enable teachers and educational administrators to understand and appreciate the rights of children and the spirit of the Right to Education. This is essential to make a shift to a rights-based approach to education and abolish physical punishment, mental harassment and discrimination.
The teachers should be trained in the skills required to positively engage with children who are different in order to understand their predicaments.
All teachers working in any school – government run, aided or private – should provide a written undertaking to the management of the school and to the concerned district authority of the department of the government to which the schools normally report that they would not engage in any action that could be construed legally as amounting to ‘physical punishment, mental harassment and discrimination’.
All schools should conduct an annual social audit of physical punishment, mental harassment and discrimination. This should be made public and accessible to the authorities, the parents and to civil society. This audit should be concluded before the end of the academic year and be made public before the commencement of the new academic year.
The school management/administration should instruct every school headmaster/head teacher to hold a general body meeting with all parents of the school as well as the school management committees (SMCs) under the RTE, the school education committees or parent-teacher associations (where the SMCs are not functional) on the NCPCR guidelines and the procedures to be adopted for protecting children and their rights in schools.
An environment free of corporal punishment should be stipulated as one of the conditions for giving recognition/no-objection certificate (NOC) to a school by the State Government under the new RTE and also as one of the conditions for giving affiliation to a school by the State Board. Similarly, ‘practice of Corporal Punishment’ should be stipulated as one of the conditions for withdrawal of recognition/ NOC given to any school by the State Government and also for affiliation given to a school by the State Board. The State should frame appropriate rules and regulations concerning the recognition/ NOC in relation to the above. The rules should be reviewed by the State Government and necessary amendments to this effect should be notified in a time-bound manner.

Guidelines for mechanisms and processes to give children a voice and engage in the process of creating a positive environment:

A mechanism for children to express their grievances both in person and anonymously should be provided. Drop boxes for complaints should be placed in the school and a mechanism should be developed to address the same. Anonymity of the children/parents should be maintained while sharing the details of the complaints/grievances with other agencies such as the media in order to protect their privacy/confidentiality.
It is the responsibility of the school management to enable the formation of ‘class bal sabha’ so that children of all ages can positively engage with democratic processes.
Among its various functions the student council should also decide on a set of codes and rules that does not violate the rights of children and the right to education
Clear-cut protocols should be framed by the schools for redressing the grievances of the students and/or parents.
The School Management Committee should constitute a Corporal Punishment Monitoring Cell (CPMC) in each school to look into cases of corporal punishment. This committee should consist of two teachers, two parents (elected by the parents), one doctor (where available), one lawyer nominated by the District Legal Services Authority, one independent counsellor, an independent child rights or woman rights activist of the local area (nominated by the District Child Protection Society from a panel recommended by the local Tehsildar/BDO) and two students who are also duly elected from a class which is not the highest class in the case of high school and higher secondary school. The purpose is to ensure that students who are facing high school finals or public examinations are not drawn into this process. For example, in a school having classes up to 5 it can be 2 students from Class 5; in a school which has classes up to 8 it can be 2 students from Class 8. However, in a school having classes up to Class 10, it has to be 2 students from Class 9 and not Class 10; and in a school having classes up to Class 12, it has to be a student from Class 11.
The role of the CPMC should be:
- To hear the grievances of corporal punishment, child sexual abuse, mental harassment and discrimination without any delay whatsoever and preferably on the day of the occurrence; it should be noted that any delay can result in the evidence being tutored in favour of any one and especially in a case of violence against children when children continue to remain in the custody of the school/teachers’ community, they are susceptible to the influence of the school management/teachers. To ensure that no student/parent/teacher/staff is harassed for the complaints that have been preferred;
- To ensure that students are not forced/influenced by the school authorities to testify in their favour before media/police/court of law or any other authority;
- To see as to whether adequate steps have been taken to prevent corporal punishment, child sexual abuse, mental harassment and discrimination;
- To ensure that whenever such occurrences take place in a school the ‘victim child’ is always protected and provided, under the supervision of this committee, the best possible speedy care – medical and psychological – and the required treatment for the trauma that the child has suffered;
- The recommendations of the CPMC should be forwarded to the district level authority for such matters with a copy to the Taluk/District Legal Services Authority within 48 hours of the occurrence for appropriate action.
- It is important to distinguish between primary redressal (meaning, the adjudication of the CPMC is accepted by the child and his/her family) and secondary redressal (where the child and family are not happy with the CPMC and the matter may have to be referred to the district level authority for action).
- Even in cases where the parents of the child are satisfied that no legal action needs to be followed, the matter should be inquired into by the CPMC.
- When the issues are not sorted out at the school level, recourse should be taken to the procedures outlined under Clause 8 of these guidelines.

Accountability and Multi-sectoral Responsibility

The ‘right to remedy’ includes providing (a) equal and effective access to justice; (b) adequate, effective and prompt reparation for the harm suffered; (c) access to relevant information concerning violations and reparation mechanisms. Effective reparation should include restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantee of non-repetition. It is pertinent therefore that the State Governments which have to ensure their State rules provide for better implementation of the RTE, 2009, make suitable legal provisions for ‘effective reparation’ in cases of corporal punishment.
All educational institutions including schools and hostels, government as well as private, are custodians of children during the time the children are on their premises. It is thus the responsibility of the management/administration of the school/institution to ensure that children are safe from all forms of violence, including corporal punishment. Therefore, along with the school teacher, warden or the staff of the school/institution that has inflicted violence on the child, the management/administration of the school/institution and their respective education administrators/managements at the higher levels should also be held responsible.
In every case of violence against children the respective management/administration should conduct an independent investigation, thus taking responsibility for what goes on in school/institution and not rely simply on enquiries conducted by the school/institution. In any case of child abuse, if the parent withdraws the case, the designated authority should take cognisance of the offence and proceed without harming the child and taking strict action against the accused.
As required under Section 32(1) of the RTE Act, State Governments and UT Administrations should designate appropriate ‘local authority’ and notify the same to all concerned for the purpose of redressing the grievances relating to corporal punishment and discrimination. Such ‘local authority’ should be a member of the District Child Protection Society (DCPS) which exists under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) and is headed by the District Collector/Magistrate/Deputy Commissioner. The DCPS should function as the District Level Committee for the purpose of corporal punishment under the Chairpersonship of the District Collector/Magistrate/Deputy Commissioner and the concerned Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) should be its ex officio Member Secretary/Convener. The District Collector/Magistrate/Deputy Commissioner should receive the complaints of physical punishment, mental harassment and discrimination in schools and get these redressed within a reasonable timeframe. It should also be his responsibility to take suo motu cognisance of grave cases of corporal punishment and to take remedial measures as per law expeditiously.
Immediately upon being informed about the occurrence of a case of corporal punishment, it should be the duty of the SDM concerned to immediately ensure that the CPMC undertakes a preliminary factfinding exercise as mentioned in clauses in the previous paragraphs of these Guidelines.
In a matter where a child while in school suffers from corporal punishment, resulting in death (homicide or suicide), sexual abuse or serious/grievous mental or physical injury, the SDM concerned should rush to the school as soon as he comes to know about the incident and get the preliminary enquiry organised immediately under his direct supervision. He should ensure that the preliminary enquiry is completed within 7-10 days.
In cases of suicide/sexual harassment/hospitalisation resulting due to the action of a teacher/ staff of the school, the accused should be suspended immediately until the investigations by the SDM and police are over.
As soon as the preliminary enquiry report of the CPMC is made available to the designated SDM, he/ she should independently assess the report and verify the facts, wherever he/she has doubt. If he/she is convinced that a prima facie case exists then, speedily and without any delay whatsoever prefer a complaint in writing to the local police station at the earliest but not later than one month from the date of the incident, asking them to set the process of law in motion.
In all complaints of corporal punishment preferred by the concerned SDM, it should be the duty of the Station House Officer/Police Station in-Charge to immediately register it as First Information Report (FIR) and forward a copy of the same to the concerned SDM, CPMC and the school management and the parents/guardian of the affected child forthwith. He should ensure that all relevant penal provisions are reflected in the FIR, including that of IPC, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and corresponding Rules, the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955, and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and corresponding Rules.
Thereafter, the case should be entrusted to the Child Welfare Officer (CWO) of the local police station to take it to logical conclusion from the police side. He should immediately proceed in apprehending the accused in cognisable offences and complete his/her investigation within a reasonable timeframe. He should file the charge-sheet in the court of the concerned magistrate with a copy of the same being endorsed to the concerned SDM within a reasonable timeframe but preferably within 3 months from the date of registration of FIR. He/she should ensure that, irrespective of the gravity of the alleged offence(s), no child/teacher/staff/parent witness from the school or the neighbourhood who has sufficient knowledge of the incident are examined in the police station for the purpose of investigation. His interaction with the children in the school or neighbourhood should be in a non-intimidating manner and should be in the presence of their parents and the legal aid member of the concerned CPMC.
It should be the responsibility of the legal-aid member of the CPMC from the District Legal Aid Services Authority (nominated by its Member Secretary) to provide free and effective legal aid from beginning to end to a child victim of corporal punishment and his parents connected thereto, wherever parents are not able to engage a lawyer on their own.
The SDM and CWO should always take special care to ensure that the head of the school or the school management or teachers’ associations/unions, directly or indirectly, do not attempt to tamper with the witnesses in any manner whatsoever.
The concerned CPMC and SDM should ensure that priority is accorded in the entire process to the victim child and her/his safety and both physical and mental health. Hence, if the child needs to be rushed to a hospital they may take care to do so without any delay, or if the services of a professional psychiatrist or psychologist or child counsellor are required, these should be arranged at Government expense in the case of government schools. For all aided or private schools the local educational authority should organise the same at the expense of the private management.
Once the enquiry by the SDM is complete, he should recommend through the Collector to the State Government for paying adequate compensation to the child victim or his family in light of the gravity of the case within a definite timeframe. The same may be recovered by the government from the school in due course.
The SDM concerned should also send a copy of his enquiry report to the Director (School Education) with his recommendation for disciplinary action against the teacher/principal/non-teaching staff of the school concerned (wherever applicable). In cases, where the report of the SDM reveals that there is a clear case made out against the teacher/head/staff, proper disciplinary action as per law/rules should be initiated by the Director (School Education) and appropriate actions should be taken within a reasonable timeframe.
The Director (School Education) should also take into account the record of the school concerned regarding corporal punishment, while renewing its recognition and/or giving NOC to it to open a new branch.
For having timely assistance, the District Level Committee on Corporal Punishment under the Chairpersonship of the District Collector/Magistrate/Deputy Commissioner should maintain (in updated manner) a list of required professionals, such as doctors, counsellors, psychologists, criminal lawyers, child rights/women rights activists (sub-district wise). Orientation programmes for such empanelled professionals on the issues relating to corporal punishment should be organised from time to time by the District Level Committee. The School Education Department should make a provision in its budget and place the same at the disposal of the District Magistrate for the purpose of paying honorarium to them on a case-to-case basis, as well as for meeting the training/orientation/sensitisation/ publicity/public awareness programme expenses.
The SDMs should keep the District Collectors/Magistrates (as the Chairperson of the District Level Committee on Corporal Punishment) informed about the developments in the cases of corporal punishment within their jurisdiction once in 3 months in the format that should be prescribed by the Directorate of School Education or the District Magistrate.
The District Collectors/Magistrates should periodically, but at least once in 3 months, hold the meeting of the District Level Committee on corporal punishment to assess the situation of corporal punishment in the District so as to take remedial measures.
It should be made the responsibility of the Director (School Education) of the State Governments/ UT Administrations as the State Level Nodal Officer to ensure that the above guidelines are widely known to all concerned and implemented in letter and spirit.
All the School Education Boards, including ICSE, CBSE and State Boards should take suo motu cognisance of the incidents of corporal punishment in the schools affiliated to them and to get the same inquired into within a reasonable timeframe. The School Boards should maintain a multi-disciplinary panel of professionals (State-wise) for the purpose of independent enquiry. They should constitute a Grievance Redressal Cell to receive complaints of corporal punishment and to take appropriate actions in such matters expeditiously. These Cells should also work out strategies for preventing such incidents in schools affiliated to them. One such strategy should be to ask the affiliated schools to organise sensitisation/ orientation programmes for teachers on corporal punishment issues from time to time. These Cells should also suitably advise the said Boards in addressing the issue from a larger perspective.
The School Boards should issue Guidelines to the schools affiliated to them, stipulating that ‘corporal punishment-free environment’ would be one of the conditions for granting affiliation/recognition/NOC to them. Similarly, they should also stipulate that ‘practice of physical punishment/mental harassment’ would be one of the grounds for withdrawal of affiliation/recognition/NOC granted to them.
The School Boards should also issue instructions immediately to all schools affiliated to them to abide by the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 as well as the Rules and Guidelines framed/issued/notified thereunder. They should have a test check in this regard once in a year. The Department of School Education and Literacy in the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) should get the compliance level in this regard evaluated through NUEPA once in a year and the findings should be shared with NCPCR.

Source: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights

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