Corporal punishment outlawed

HIGH Court judge Justice David Mangota has once again outlawed corporal punishment against children at schools or at home by teachers, parents and guardians, saying the practice is a contravention of the country’s supreme laws.

Justice Mangota’s ruling followed an application by a Harare parent, Linah Pfungwa, who challenged corporal punishment at schools after her Grade One child was subjected to beatings by her teacher last year.

In her affidavit, through her lawyer, Tendai Biti, Pfungwa said she strongly believed that no one, whether at school, a teacher or parent at home, should inflict corporal punishment on a child.

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