What are the most absurd school punishments?

ILLUSTRATIONS Chameleon

Beats, blows, punches, lashings, exhausting exercises and even humiliation, such as licking feces. And don’t think this is a thing of the past: there are recent examples of all these abuses.

Physical punishment in schools is still common. Even developed countries, such as South Korea, France and the USA, still allow paddle strokes (private schools in England can also use it).

But the worst happens in Asia and the Middle East, where disciplinary systems are even stricter. Institutions for the protection of minors, such as Unicef, usually look at data on school dropouts to try to identify violence in schools – countries with violent classes have high dropout rates.

Check out some extreme cases that turned classrooms into torture chambers

1) Thought it was better to catch

WHERE USA

There are 19 states that allow disciplinary aggression. If parents do not want their child to be spanked, they need to send a document to the school board at the beginning of the school year. In Texas, in September 2012, a teenager who let a classmate copy her lesson preferred to be paddled rather than suspended so as not to compromise her school performance.

2) Radical anti-bullying

WHERE Portugal

The European Union has a strict agreement to prohibit this type of attitude. But there are still sporadic cases that shock the public. In 2010, a Portuguese father discovered that, in a computer class, an educator pulled his 10-year-old son’s hair and banged his head several times against the keyboard just because the boy had laughed at a classmate!

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3) Mass Evasion

WHERE Pakistan

Despite having a penal code that prohibits violence in the classroom, Pakistan is no man’s land. It is estimated that 35,000 children drop out of school each year because of abuse. In 2008, 14-year-old Muddassar Aslam died of internal bleeding after being beaten by a teacher with a stick. His “crime”? Not having done the homework!

4) Crack your head

WHERE Bangladesh

Another country without a penal code against school violence and full of serious cases. It is common for the teacher to hit students on the head and legs with a stick or paddle, press their hands with pens or pencils and even tie up the messiest ones. In 2000, a 6-year-old girl fainted after being hit on the head from eating peanuts.

5) It will be expensive

WHERE USA

New York State does not allow corporal punishment, but incidents still occur. In June 2012, in the Brooklyn Borough, a 15-year-old boy was beaten by the teacher and the inspector for trying to enter school late. Cameras recorded everything and his mother is suing the state, demanding $ 5.5 million – record compensation for cases of this type.

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6) What a m%$#@ class

WHERE Nepal

In this country, it is difficult to fight punishments, as even parents agree with harsh discipline. The worst story happened in 2000: 18 children were forced to lick feces (!) simply for not memorizing the multiplication table. A 10-year-old girl was hung upside down because the warden suspected she had stolen an apple.

7) Heavy bar

WHERE Middle East

Scattered across the region, madrassas are Islamic schools that offer shelter and food to students from poorer areas. This is the only type of education accessible to the poor. In 2007, a Pakistani youth called the police after escaping a torture session for indiscipline. Another 24 were tortured and even raped by teachers.

8) Run until you die

WHERE India

In some cities, 70% of Indians between the ages of 6 and 14 have reported abuse. They are watering, pinching or sessions kneeling in the sun, in the cold or on an uneven floor. In January 2011, at an English-oriented boarding school, a student was forced to run across the courtyard after missing three days of classes. He passed away after two laps, probably due to cardiac arrest.

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IT’S IN BRAZIL?

Law can approve criminal punishment for school violence

Our history is not the best either: the expression “give your hand to the paddle” comes from a common punishment in Brazilian schools until the 60s, a wooden “spoon” used to hit students. Today, the Child and Adolescent Statute protects Brazilian children from inhumane, violent and humiliating treatment. But there is no legal protection if she is actually assaulted (at home or at school). A bill pending in the Senate may approve, in an unprecedented way, a criminal penalty for school or domestic violence against children.

SOURCES Commission on Human Rights, Unicef ​​(Asia), Time magazine and websites ABC, BBC, Humanitarian News and Analysis, End Corporal Punishment and Learn Without Fear