Zamfara’s Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) is collaborating with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to end corporal punishment in primary and secondary schools in the state.

The SUBEB chairman, Abubakar Maradun, disclosed in Gusau on Monday at sensitisation and engagement of stakeholders on ending corporal punishment in schools.

“This is in compliance with the federal ministry of education’s directives in collaboration with UNICEF,” said Mr Maradun, represented at the meeting by a SUBEB official, Abubakar Abdullahi. “Corporal punishment in schools is contributing immensely to criminal activities such as stealing, drug abuse, political thuggery, armed robbery, kidnapping, and prostitution, among others.”

He added, “These are determinant factors to security challenges bedevilling the country.”

Representatives of the police and the NSCDC, SP Muhammad Umar and DSC Ibrahim Adamu, advised teachers to avoid any act of corporal punishment that would tarnish the image of pupils in schools.

The School-Based Management Committees (SBMC)’s chairman in Zamfara, Abubakar Dogo, said punishment must be applied to any student who violated school rules or misbehaved within or outside the school premises.

Mr Dogo added that the punishment should not be corporal as there were several ways to discipline students.

The UNICEF representative, Ahmed Hashim, said the programme was to train teachers and other major stakeholders on abolishing corporal punishment in their respective schools.

(NAN)