PRIMARY and Secondary Education Minister Torerayi Moyo has warned teachers against administering corporal punishment, saying those who assault learners risk prosecution and imprisonment.
Addressing school heads from Matabeleland North at Coalfields Primary School on Friday, Moyo said ordinary classroom teachers were not authorised to administer corporal punishment, noting that some educators had already found themselves on the wrong side of the law after beating learners.
“Teachers are not allowed to apply corporal punishment. Some teachers have gone to jail for beating learners,” Moyo said, according to The Chronicle.
He said school authorities should familiarise themselves with the legal provisions governing discipline instead of assuming that every teacher had the authority to physically punish learners.
Moyo said school heads could administer corporal punishment only under prescribed circumstances and procedures, including formally recording the punishment and reasons for imposing it.
“If you read the statute closely, there are certain clauses where, as a head, you are able to apply corporal punishment,” he said.
“It means you have to record that you are applying corporal punishment, you need to have a logbook and give reasons why you are doing that.”
His remarks come amid continuing debate over the use of corporal punishment in Zimbabwean schools and how educators should maintain discipline while safeguarding learners from abuse.
Moyo said schools should be safe environments for children and challenged heads to take firm action against practices that threaten learners’ welfare and undermine the education system.
“There can be no quality education where children are unsafe, intimidated or subjected to violence,” he said.
“I therefore expect every school head to maintain zero tolerance for sexual abuse, bullying, corporal punishment, examination malpractice and every form of conduct that undermines the dignity, safety and rights of the child.”
The minister’s remarks also broadened the focus beyond physical punishment, placing responsibility on school administrators to address sexual abuse, bullying and examination malpractice.
His warning comes against the backdrop of differing views over corporal punishment, with some legislators previously calling for its retention as a disciplinary measure in schools.
The debate has increasingly centred on how schools can enforce discipline without exposing learners to violence or teachers to legal consequences.
Moyo urged school heads and teachers to operate within the law when dealing with disciplinary cases, warning that educators who overstep their authority could face prosecution.
The ministry has maintained that learner discipline should be enforced in a manner that protects children’s dignity, safety and rights while preserving order in schools.
