A teacher of a private school in Lagos simply identified as Mr. Emmanuel beat a student (identified as Boluwatife Onalaja) to death for failing to answer a Mathematics question. The incident occurred on the 28th of November 2020 in Isawo area of Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria.

Although the school management tried to cover up the horrendous incident by driving the deceased’s body home and stating to his parents that he had become unconscious in the classroom, the truth was told by the deceased’s elder brother who was quick to break the news to his parents on getting home at 5pm. The school teacher who perpetrated the incident is said to be at large.

The above incident depicts one of the major weaknesses of corporal punishment which is the issue of lack of proportionality. Put differently, more often than not, the punishment meted out on the students has little or no bearing with the offence committed. Corporal punishment is usually carried out by teachers in the heat of passion and there is every likelihood that they may lose control and lose sight of the main goal which is correction and reformation. To this end, other non-violent means of correction can be adopted, including denial of certain privileges or rewarding good behaviour can be adopted.

REFERENCES

Livetimesng (November 28, 2020) School teacher beats student to death in Lagos, attempts cover up; https://livetimesng.com/school-teacher-beats-student-to-death-in-lagos-attempts-cover-up-photos/

Kenrdra Nenia (2021) Alternatives to Spanking; https://www.chhs.niu.edu/child-center/resources/articles/alternatives-to-spanking.shtml