Indian Child Attempts Suicide

The scale of cruelty and corporal punishment in Indian schools was highlighted Friday by the attempted suicide of a 13-year-old girl who was paraded naked by a teacher after being accused of stealing from a classmate.

The girl returned home after school and jumped off the balcony of the four-storey block of flats in Delhi where she lived.  Her family said she had been distraught by her public humiliation.  Her case emerged amid a series of reports of abuse of children by teachers in India.

A four-year-old boy was forced to drink his own urine by his nursery teacher in Andhra Pradesh to punish him for wetting himself.

A five-year-old boy in the same state was beaten up by a school principal, and a seven-year-old Dalit girl was thrashed by her math teacher for failing to solve a problem.

A teacher was arrested in Madhya Pradesh for partially scalping an eight-year-old girl.

Colin Gonsolves, the director of India's Human Rights Law Network, said corporal punishment was illegal in schools but remained widespread.

The Ottawa Citizen, Saturday, November 24, 2012