Student in shackles!

It seems like a story out of a psychological thriller – too horrific to be true. A 10-year-old madrasa student was rescued by the police last Monday night from Magura Bus Stand area, with his left leg still tied to an iron shackle. We are to understand that the child had fled the institution multiple times as he was beaten and tortured by his tutor, but his father had returned him to the place every time. Consequently, the tutor had put him in shackles. The parents had allegedly consented to this brutal act, which, if true, only adds to our concerns about the trauma undergone by the child and of his future safety. 

It is completely unacceptable that such barbaric tools of "discipline" are used in this day and age, in violation of the country's constitutional provisions and laws, by teachers and also parents. We can only imagine the grave psychological harm – in addition to the physical harm – suffered by this minor. Legal action must be taken against the perpetrator of this violence, and, as this instance makes clear, parents too must be sensitised about corporal punishment as many still readily give in to teachers' unjust disciplinary actions thinking that these are an inevitable part of the education system. 

And while we are heartened to note that the HC has asked Udayan School authorities to submit a probe report on allegations of torture on an eighth grade by a teacher of the school, we wonder if this case would have been taken seriously had it not been highlighted by the Bangla daily, Prothom Alo. Five years on, isn't it high time we implement the HC ruling that prohibits corporal punishment in a comprehensive manner across towns and villages of Bangladesh?