Remove chastisement clause, student tells PM

A student is taking a stand against the phrase “lawful and moderate chastisement” in the Constitution.

“If our Constitution is meant to protect every child from violence, why should it contain wording that could permit physical punishment?” asked Votualevu College head girl Grace Ritishma Chand.

She put the question to Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and the Special Committee on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill during a public consultation at Votualevu College in Nadi last Saturday.

Grace called for the words “lawful and moderate chastisement” to be removed from the Bill.

She said Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Elefina Vuki had warned that the wording could allow violence against children to be justified as discipline.

She also referred to Women, Children and Social Protection Minister Sashi Kiran’s statement that violence against children “should never be justified or legislated”.

However, another Votualevu student supported stronger disciplinary measures.

“A lot of people may not agree with me supporting corporal punishment,” the student said.

She said she had witnessed students rolling their eyes at teachers and showing them the middle finger.

“Teachers must be empowered to maintain order and students must be held accountable for their actions,” she said.

She also suggested warnings, counselling and suspension for serious cases.

Other issues raised by students included:

• Establishing a confidential system for reporting bullying.
• Reviewing the Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Service (TSLS) hardship allowance annually, which one student said was $1000 a semester.
• Increasing funding for the Online Safety Commission, whose budget she said had fallen from $1.5 million to $1.1 million.
• Reintroducing the Year 10 examination.
• Requiring students who fail to repeat the year.
• Providing assistance to students facing rising rental costs.