Nyaribabri Chache Member of parliament Richard Tong’i blamed the wave of arson attacks in secondary school experienced across the country on the banning of corporal punishment and drug abuse among students.
Tong’i proposed the re-introduction of corporal punishment to curb the current wave of school unrest in secondary schools.
Speaking on Monday at Inani area in Ibeno ward during a fund drive Tong’i said since criminalisation of corporal punishment in 2001, school unrest has tremendously escalated.
“Since the abolishing of corporal punishment in schools, teachers are not able to instill discipline in the students since no teacher wants to be taken to court by parents and consequently losing his job,” he said.
He said if teachers were allowed to employ corporal punishment in schools, the country could not be experiencing the wave of arson attacks that has seen dormitories in at least 70 schools razed down in the past few months.
The legislator said wayward students in this generation go against school authorities since no punishment is meted out to them as compared to students who had gone through school when corporal punishment was the order of the day.
“I urge the Ministry of Education to come up with policies that will ensure that errand students get punished for unacceptable behavior,” he added.