The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder said the “policy expectation” of the government is that corporal punishment should not be inflicted in schools.

He was speaking during the 43rd session of the Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

The council has repeatedly urged The Bahamas to ban corporal punishment.

Noting The Bahamas is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Mr Pinder said the Ministry of Education introduced a Safe Schools Protocol to regulate student discipline matters in government-maintained schools.

“Inappropriate student behaviours are divided into four categories,” he said. “Level I and II infractions are addressed by the classroom teacher while Level III and Level IV infractions are advanced to a school administrator. At no level is corporal punishment recommended, and the policy expectation of the government is that it should not have to be used in schools.”

Despite Mr Pinder’s comment, the Ministry of Education’s policy still allows a school principal to administer corporal punishment.

Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin and her predecessor, Jeff Lloyd, have both called for national discussions about corporal punishment, but the government has yet to say it is even considering an outright ban on the practice in schools.

Mr Pinder said since the last UPR review in 2018, there have been three reported cases of corporal punishment in schools.

“In those cases,” he said, “the Ministers of Education called for the country to denounce the cultural practice of corporal punishment. In the most recent incident, the school administrator was placed on administrative leave.”

The latest reported incident of corporal punishment occurred in March after the principal of the Bimini Primary School called on a police officer to discipline several children.

Parents of the children shared pictures with The Tribune showing bruises on the children’s bodies after they were beaten.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force has yet to reveal the outcome of its investigation into that matter. The officer involved remains on active duty.