Amend IPC to check corporal punishment to children: NCPCR

New Delhi: Seeking strict legal measures against corporal punishment to children, a prominent child rights body on Friday favoured amending Indian Penal Code (IPC) contending that certain provisions in the law protect adults who physically punish youngsters The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairman Shantha Sinha said that Section 88 of the IPC gives protection to parents, guardians, adults and other persons to physically punish the children "if it is in the best intention". "This provision gives shelter to the adults to physically punish children. Moreover, there is no way to ascertain whether the punishment was in best intention. Intention is a very subjective matter," she said at a seminar on Human Rights Education at School Level organised by National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) here. The NCPCR is studying the issue and will come out with suggestions to stop corporal punishment, she said. "We are studying the existing legal framework that needs to be amended to curb corporal punishment. We are in favour of bringing amendment to the IPC," Sinha said. NHRC chairperson Justice Rajendra Babu said that students should be given human rights education at school level which would help them become responsible citizens. The NHRC has developed modules for having human rights education at school level. Anshu Vaish, secretary, Elementary Education and Literacy, said that the Right To Education Bill, introduced in Parliament, stipulates that students should not be subjected to any type of physical harassment and mental punishment. She said NCERT has come up with new textbooks which explain the concept of human rights. However, thisis not enough. We need to have human rights as part of the curriculum in teachers' training programmes," she said.

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