This week, the news hit hard: a teacher at a St Estevam school allegedly beat 11 students of Class 9 so badly that four needed hospital treatment. The reason? The students were playing cricket inside the classroom. Parents refused to let the school sweep this under the rug. They took their children to the police, demanding justice.
Goa’s schools have been in the spotlight for violence against children more than once. In Mapusa, two women teachers were arrested for assaulting a 9-year-old boy. In Sanguem, a teacher punished 43 students by making them run laps until some fainted. In Bicholim, 12 schoolgirls were hospitalised after pepper spray was used during a fight involving boys. These cases reveal a system struggling to handle increasing behavioural problems, with teachers often left to their own devices — many resorting to violence as a quick fix.
The excuses you hear — students are “more deviant” these days, or discipline is breaking down — don’t cut it. If students act out, it’s because many schools lack the safe, supportive environments students need to thrive. When children don’t feel supported, acting out becomes a cry for help. And when teachers aren’t trained or supported in managing challenging behaviours, frustration boils over. Some teachers fall back on outdated, harmful tactics like hitting, humiliating, or yelling.
Here’s the thing: the law is crystal clear. Corporal punishment is illegal. The Right to Education Act, Juvenile Justice Act, and Goa Children’s Act all ban any form of physical or mental abuse in schools.
The answer lies not in the law, but in enforcement. The Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR) studied these incidents and recommended a comprehensive School Child Protection Policy. This policy isn’t just words on paper — it’s a practical roadmap. It spells out how schools must prevent abuse, respond when it happens, hold perpetrators accountable, and support students with counselling and confidential complaint channels. It also calls for training teachers and staff in positive, non-violent discipline techniques.
But here’s the bitter truth: this policy has been gathering dust for over two years. The Education Department has failed to implement it.
What happens when policies aren’t enforced? Schools “handle discipline” their own way. In the St Estevam case, the school’s first move was a quiet memo to the teacher, hoping parents would be silenced. That culture of cover-up puts children at risk. It normalises abuse.
Teachers are not villains. Many are overwhelmed and unsupported. Behavioural problems are rising, especially after the pandemic. Without enough counsellors or training, some teachers punish harshly because it’s all they know.
Goa has fewer than 300 school counsellors for more than 1,000 schools. Without counselling support, many students’ emotional struggles go unnoticed.
It’s a vicious circle: students act out because they feel unseen; teachers lash out because they have no tools.
This has to end. The Education Department must stop delaying. It must roll out the GSCPCR’s Child Protection Policy and ensure every school adopts it fully.
Parents need to be vocal. Report abuse. Demand change. Students also need to know their rights.
If schools keep beating and silencing children, what kind of society are we raising?
It’s time for decisive action. Our children deserve safe schools where they can learn, grow, and dream free from fear and harm.
(The writer is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the D.D. Kosambi School of Social Sciences and Behavioural Studies, Goa University)
