HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon has stressed that the government backs the use of corporal punishment in schools, noting that it has not been abolished.
He made the point at his weekly post-Cabinet news briefing Thursday, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.
According to the agency, he said Cabinet noted the recent interest in corporal punishment that surfaced and took the opportunity to reiterate the government’s policy which had been earlier adumbrated and fully publicised.
“That policy stated that the administration supports and defends the use of corporal punishment in Guyana. Aware of the concerns about corporal punishment, especially its potential for abuse, the administration took steps to control the use of corporal punishment in schools,” Luncheon said.
GINA said he emphasised that the resort to corporal punishment in schools, though restricted, has not been abolished in the education system.
Asked why the government still supports corporal punishment in light of Guyana’s commitments at the international level for its abolition, he said, “In the absence of a patently discernible rejection of corporal punishment by rank and file Guyanese, it is most unlikely that the administration would go out on a limb to implement and to find some justification for so doing.”
He noted, GINA said, the government conceives that corporal punishment can be an emotive issue but its concerns are deeply rooted in an abiding conviction by most Guyanese that the penalty has a role in disciplining children.