The Lagos State Government has reiterated its ban on corporal punishment in public schools, instead promoting counseling as the best way to correct students.
The state banned corporal punishment in 2022 and implemented the Safeguarding and Child Protection Programme in schools that year.
State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Jamiu Alli-Balogun, made this clear in an interview with a Nigerian news agency on Monday.
He said, “There is a policy here in Lagos and other parts of the country prohibiting teachers from giving corporal punishment to students/pupils.” He added that the goal is to prevent injuries, fainting, or even death from flogging by teachers.
Alli-Balogun insisted that “Flogging is not the best way to correct a student.” Instead, the state has adopted counseling and minor punishments like kneeling, picking up dirt, and cutting grass.
“This is part of our positive reinforcement. It is a powerful tool for shaping behavior and encouraging desired outcomes,” he said. “The counseling is basically to correct.“
He also attributed student misbehavior to poor parental upbringing, urging parents to take more responsibility. “Parents must wake up to their responsibilities and have time for their children,” he said.
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This western approach will backfire one day in the near future. Crimes iin schools should be penalised. Counselling alone does not cut it. “Spare the rod and spoil the child.”
The western culture on crimes in schools should not be used in the Nigerian school systems, or the moral decadence over there will follow suit in Nigeria.