Pay up or else... is actually illegal

On Friday, three students of Gowtham Model School, Himayatnagar, were punished by the school authorities for non-payment of fees. (DC report, January 5, ‘Students locked up in room for hours…’).

While parents alleged that their children were locked up inside a room for several hours, the school management denied it, claiming that the students were only barred from writing their exams.
Which brings us to a crucial question: Was the school correct in detaining the students in such a manner? As per the law, detention of students in the classroom, library, toilet or any closed space within the school for any reason (including non-payment of fees) amounts to corporal punishment and abuse and also compromises the freedom and dignity of a child.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act has defined corporal punishment as including physical punishment, mental harassment and discrimination. As per this classification, the detention of students falls under physical punishment. The RTE Act also stipulates a ‘corporal punishment free environment’ as one of the conditions for a school being recognised by or receiving a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the state government.

The Child Rights’ Charter (2003) of India specifically states that: ‘All children have the right to be protected against neglect, mal-treatment, injury, and trafficking, sexual and physical abuse of all kinds, corporal punishment, torture, exploitation, violence and degrading treatment.’ In 1992, India signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, and according to the Convention, ‘Every child has the Right to live without violence and corporal punishment (verbal, physical, emotional), and everyone has the responsibility not to be violent to others.’

‘I have rights being a child and no matter who I am, where I live, what my parents do, what language I speak, what religion I follow, whether I am a boy or a girl, what culture I belong to, whether I am disabled, whether I am rich or poor, I should not be treated unfairly on any basis. Everyone has the responsibility to know this,” the Convention emphasised on children’s rights.

Article 21 of the Constitution of India mandates the right to life and dignity, and includes the right to education for children up to 14 years of age. Article 39(f) directs the State to work progressively to ensure that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner with freedom and dignity, and to ensure that children and youth are protected from exploitation and moral and material abandonment.

In December 2000, the Supreme Court had banned corporal punishment acts on children and directed the State to ensure “that children are not subjected to corporal punishment in schools and they receive education in an environment of freedom and dignity, free from fear”.