The Zamfara Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) is collaborating with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to end corporal punishment in primary and secondary schools in the state.
The Executive Chairman of the Board, Alhaji Abubakar Maradun, made the disclosure in Gusau on Monday at a sensitisation and engagement of stakeholders on ending corporal punishment in schools.
Maradun, who was represented at the meeting by the Permanent Member 1 of the Board, Abubakar Abdullahi, said the era of corporal punishment in schools was now a thing of the past.
“This is in compliance with the Federal Ministry of Education’s directives in collaboration with UNICEF.
“Corporal punishment in schools is contributing immensely to criminal activities such as stealing, drug abuse, political thuggery, armed robbery, kidnapping, prostitution among others.
“These are determinant factors to security challenges bedevilling the country,” the SUBEB Chairman said.
In their remarks, representatives of the State Police Command and State Command of Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), SP Muhammad Umar and DSC Ibrahim Adamu, advised teachers to avoid any act of corporal punishment that would tarnish the image of pupils in schools.
In his contribution, the State Chairman, School Base Management Committees (SBMC), Alhaji Abubakar Dogo, said punishment must be applied to any student who violated school rules and regulations or misbehaved within or out the school premises.
Dogo added that the punishment should not be corporal as there were several ways to deal with students.
Earlier, the UNICEF representative, Dr Ahmed Hashim, said the training was to train teachers and other major stakeholders on how to abolish corporal punishment in their respective schools.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that different presentations were made by various scholars on the role of teachers in ending corporal punishment in schools.
Presentations on the impact of school related violence on children’s enrollment, retention and learning outcomes, were also made.(NAN)