The Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) has told teachers to not beat pupils in accordance with a High Court ruling outlawing corporal punishment. The association urged its members to find alternative methods of disciplining pupils.
Speaking at a Zimta’s annual conference in Harare on Tuesday, chief executive officer, Sifiso Ndlovu said:
We should look at the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, where we are saying, in terms of corporal punishment, the Zimbabwean teacher who goes to teach in South Africa should not be found on the wrong side of the law. While we may not have a curriculum, which has the same philosophy because we are different countries, there are common standards that we can agree on, such as the Sadc Protocol on Education and Training. In that interface, we can adhere to standards which can be transferred across the region.
…My view, as a teacher is that, let us stop using that approach because it brings about violence, intolerance, hate and hurt to the pupils and it is very barbaric.
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