Should Ministry of Education Review its Corporal Punishment Policy?
...on is over-protecting the female students. As such, should the Ministry of Education review its corporal punishment policy? The Ministry of Education’s corporal punishment policy has the propensity of stereotyping the boys to be naughtier than girls are. It also brings about the old fashion perception that girls are more vulnerable than boys are, and thus, the cane is spared upon the females. Nonetheless, I denounce such perception of girls being more vulnerable as we are currently living in the 21st century where there is equality in gender. Girls have claimed that they are able to do whatever the boys are capable of and even excel the boys. So should the corporal punishment not be imposed upon girls? We ought to take into consideration that some female students are as naughty and can get even naughtier than male students can. In the Parliament, Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam brought up that the number of girls being involved in disciplinary cases, especially serious offences, is lesser compared to the boys. Girls at both primary and secondary levels commit only 11 percent of serious offences. However, this does not imply that the percentage will not increase over time. Despite this, some people may argue that we Asians ought to follow our ancestors’ belief that girls ought to receive more protection, as they are generally weaker than boys are. Recently, there is an increasing number of parents who believe that such a corporal punishment should be abolished as they feel that discipline should not get physical, which includes canning. They think that, eventually, the school is just a place for the students to obtain their academic certificates to secure a good paying job upon graduation. In fact, a growing number of Psychologists believe that children in general, especially girls in particular, should not be subjected to corporal punishment. Experts declared that such punishments might precondition girls to accept violence and boys to rely on it. Indeed, it seems this is a vital reason for abolishing corporal punishment. However, if corporal punishment were to be abolished, what are the alternatives measures for schools to take in dealing with students who are undisciplined? I believe most likely ...