“According to the law, it is abuse,” he said.
Nayagam said he agreed with mothers who, in interviews with FMT, said corporal punishment in school would have long-term effects on children.
“I want to tell the parents who give teachers the go-ahead to cane their children that what they’re going to have are children who do well academically but have complex problems,” he said.
“The Convention on the Rights of the Child says the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
“Is caning and the use of force in the best interests of the child when you know the child will be permanently damaged emotionally as well?”
“Best interests of the child” is a principle of the United Nations convention that Nayagam referred to. The treaty, which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children, was ratified by Malaysia in 1995.
Nayagam said he had yet to get over the trauma of being hit by his teachers when he was a child.
“I have never recovered from the bad experiences some of my teachers made me go through. I still remember the times the teachers whacked me. Although I’ve forgiven them, sometimes I think that if I see one of them on the road today, I’ll probably take it out on him.”
He said he disagreed with those who claimed that he wouldn’t be where he was today if it weren’t for the teachers who hit him.
“If there are people who say corporal punishment is good and all that, they should know that simply isn’t true.
“I grew up hating some subjects. Corporal punishment didn’t help me and it’s not going to help your kids. Your children will only learn because they’re forced into it and not because they like learning.”
Last November, Nayagam proposed that a softer approach, including counselling, would be more effective in disciplining students.
Students could be punished with community work or the removal of certain privileges, he said.
“You can whack a child 10 times and nothing will change,” he said. “But take away his privilege of going out on Saturdays, for instance, and you’ll see how effective that is.”