Why corporal punishment persists

Globally, April 30 marks the International Day to End Corporal Punishment of Children. However, each year in Uganda, the day serves more as a grim reminder of the long journey ahead for the country to end the crime in schools and households, write John Musenze and Jacky Achan.

Recently, a video of a secondary school student refusing to be caned by his teacher went viral on social media, sparking mixed reactions about the young man’s stance. 

To people who went to traditional schools, the student’s defiance was wrong, but according to the law, the student was right. 

Corporal punishment was first outlawed in 1997 and amended in 2016 under the Children’s Act to include a new Article (106A) that specifically prohibits it in schools. 

This amendment makes it a criminal offence for anyone in a position of authority in an educational setting to inflict corporal punishment. The offence is punishable by imprisonment or a fine of sh2m. 

This is the punishment that awaits the two teachers of Standard College Rwashamaire in Ntungamo, who were also recorded in the viral video while manhandling a student who had allegedly escaped from the school to go to a nearby trading centre. 

Teachers Aneb Mwesigye and Naboth Twesigye first went into hiding, but were later arrested and charged with assault and causing bodily harm on February 11. The case has not yet been concluded.

Despite such arrests and corporal punishment being criminalised, a new report by Uwezo, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has shown that 70% of the primary schools in Uganda and 85% of households still use corporal punishment to discipline pupils and children. 

The report, which was released last month, sampled 410 primary schools and 8,608 households. 

The study was conducted between July and August last year in 29 districts across the four regions of Uganda. 

While presenting the report, Dr Mary Goretti Nakabugo, the principal investigator and executive director of Uwezo Uganda, discouraged the use of corporal punishment. 

“Children who are subjected to violence tend to become violent as parents when they grow up. Unless we address it in the households, it won’t stop in schools. There is a need for a holistic approach to stop the practice because children need to look forward to going to school and home,” she said. 

Beatrice Byakutaga, a member of the Education Service Commission, also said beating a child does not mean he or she will improve. She called for concerted efforts to enforce the law on corporal punishment.

Why it remains common 

Sanon Banda, a teacher at Mengo Senior School in Kampala, acknowledged that some teachers continue to use physical punishments to enforce discipline, often because they are unaware of the legal implications. 

He said more awareness from school heads could reduce the practice. Banda said some teachers tend to think that learners who have committed big offences require kiboko before any other added punishments like suspension from school. 

He said the lack of training in alternative disciplinary methods before the criminalisation of the corporal punishment has not helped to change teachers’ and parents’ mindsets. Banda added that some teachers believe caning is the most effective tool. 

“They even testify how it was effective in their generation,” he said. Yet, Banda shared his personal testimony about the harm it caused him. 

“As a student, physical punishments created an environment of fear, which increased anxiety and stress for me. It reduced my self-esteem and greatly affected my emotions and social life. Some teachers used to earn respect after serious sessions of caning, but that respect was out of fear and anxiety. It’s forced respect and not true respect,” he explained. 

As parenting and education experts condemn corporal punishment, reports show that most Ugandans believe in the effectiveness of corporal punishment in correcting children. 

For example, the Uwezo report showed that there was a correlation between the frequency of corporal punishment at home and its continuation at school. 

“Its widespread use in the household setting may be a factor in its continuation in school settings, official policy notwithstanding,” the report read. 

Similarly, the Uganda Demographic Health Survey report of 2022 showed that at least 53% of Ugandans believe that subjecting children to corporal punishment helps to impart morals in them. 

According to the survey, faith in corporal punishment stood at 51% in urban settings and 54% in rural areas. 

In another survey done by Save the Children, an NGO, 75% of the children said they were being subjected to corporal punishment. Deborah Sempa, a grandparent who resides in Luwero district, said corporal punishment is not entirely bad. 

“All my children completed school and passed very well. When we were selecting schools in those times, we opted for schools that beat children because we trust that teachers are the secondary parents, so if you do not give them rights to discipline the child, we are going to see many immoralities in this generation,” she said. 

Sempa, however, said teachers should discipline responsibly and also know the health conditions of each child because some might be adversely affected by such punishments. 

Some parents also bribe teachers to discipline their children harder, believing that toughness leads to success. School administrators, too, can send mixed signals. Some quietly pressure teachers to “do the needful” — a wink and a nod that grants silent permission for physical discipline. 

“It’s not just teachers. It’s parents. It’s school head teachers. It’s the culture we live in,” Nelson Kajura, a teacher at Buhinga Primary School in Fort Portal, said. 

Emily Namale, a teacher at Namiryango Senior Secondary School in Mukono, said: “Parents often come to school and say, ‘Beat my child if they misbehave."

This pressure places teachers in a difficult position, especially in schools where resources to handle behavioural issues are stretched. Namale recounted how, earlier in her teaching career, she administered corporal punishment as was customary. 

“I realised that pain does not equal to discipline. Some children become rebellious; others retreat into themselves. True discipline is about teaching self-control and respect, not fear,” she said. 

Namale now uses alternative discipline methods, such as student-led agreements and counselling, although she acknowledged these require patience and commitment. 

“It’s harder work,” she said, “but it builds lasting behaviour change, not just temporary obedience.” In the aftermath of the arrest of the Ntungamo teachers, then district Police commander Hannington Bushaija attributed the teachers’ use of harsh punishments to the students’ worsening behaviour. 

He cited the case of Kyamate Secondary School, where students tied a Senior One student on a bed in a dormitory and set it on fire, killing the student. The suspects accused the deceased student of being behind their dismissal from the school.

Breaking the cycle 

Parenting classes could be one answer. Not just the occasional parent-teacher association meetings, but real, ongoing programmes — even starting during antenatal care, teaching parents early that love, patience and communication shape better children than fear ever could. 

Training for teachers: Workshops, peer-to-peer discussions, mentorship programmes. Regular, relatable reminders that discipline through dialogue is possible and powerful. 

Yvonne Laruni, the programme manager of Good School Team at Raising Voices, an NGO, said positive discipline involves nonviolent penalties for bad behaviour that help children learn self-discipline without fear. 

“You need to allow the child or learner to have a reflection on why what they did is wrong,” Laruni says. She says positive discipline is a long-term process which aims to build children’s ability to make good judgment. Whereas corporal punishment helps to stop the behaviour right away, it does not stop it from happening in the future.

What ministry is doing 

The education ministry is training teachers on reducing violence in schools in the form of corporal punishment and bullying. 

The World Bank-funded project is being rolled out under the Uganda Secondary Education Expansion Project and implemented by Luigi Giussani Foundation, in partnership with Science Teaching and Innovations Africa in 116 schools in 64 districts. 

During one of the trainings in Isingiro district, Agatha Natukunda, the senior education officer of Isingiro, urged stakeholders and school heads to adopt alternative forms of discipline that do not cause physical or psychological harm to learners. 

Speranza Mwigarire, a senior woman teacher at Masha Seed Secondary School, said she believes that regular guidance and counselling sessions can help address such issues. 

Fatal cases, grey areas 

In 2023, a teacher hit 11-year-old Dan Gasore, a pupil at Mutolere Primary School in Kisoro district, with a stick on the head and back, resulting in his death. 

His crime? Failing homework. In December 2020, Primary Seven pupil Atiel Beny Bol collapsed and died after she was beaten by her science teacher for failing a test. 

In 2015, the Police in Luuka district detained a primary school teacher of St Paul Nakabale, over alleged torture of a Primary Seven candidate that resulted in his death. 
Stuart Matende, 15, died on the way to Iganga Hospital, where he was being taken for treatment after the teacher subjected him to corporal punishment.

Grey areas that confuse teachers 

Nelson Kajura, a teacher at Buhinga Primary School in Fort Portal, explains that many teachers don’t fully realise when their actions cross the line. 

“You may think it’s minor — pulling a child’s ear, making them kneel — but depending on their health, it can become corporal punishment,” he says. 

In some cases, even non-physical punishments like forcing a hungry child to stand for hours can cause fainting or injury. The boundaries aren’t always as clear as people assume. 

Efforts at Buyinga Primary School include strict internal rules: No beating, no slapping, and no ear-pulling. Instead, teachers are encouraged to use non-physical discipline like verbal reprimands, apologies or writing exercises. 

Yet, Kajura admits, misunderstandings persist — even among student leaders like prefects, who sometimes take ‘discipline’ into their own hands, pinching or beating classmates.