Disclaimer:
The following message was received from a concerned parent and appears to be genuine. However, we firmly state that we do not condone or support anyone taking the law into their own hands. We strongly advise that all actions, even in the most extreme situations, be carried out through proper legal and official channels.
An alarming incident of inhumane corporal punishment was reported yesterday from Grade 5D at Royal College, where a teacher is alleged to have severely caned a student. We understand that police officers have already visited the school in response to a formal complaint.
Corporal punishment at Royal is not an isolated occurrence, it is disturbingly routine. If such abuse takes place openly at an elite school where many parents come from educated, influential middle-class backgrounds, one can only imagine the horrors endured in underprivileged communities, where parents may lack the awareness or resources to defend their children’s rights.
Just a few months ago, a Royal Primary teacher physically assaulted a student, an incident that made headlines on Lanka E-News.
Despite promises of system change, the NPP Prime Minister’s Department of Education responded in the usual fashion: transferring the teacher to another school instead of barring him from ever interacting with children again.
In that case, the teacher was conveniently transferred to his hometown—far from Colombo—where students largely come from impoverished rural areas. There, even if similar abuses continue, the likelihood of media exposure is low, sparing the government any public embarrassment.
As a parent of a Royal College student, I witness far too often the cruel treatment of children by certain teachers and the repeated failure of the system meant to protect them.
This is an open message to all the teachers of Royal College: if my child is subjected to corporal punishment, I will not waste time going after useless bureaucracies.
You may not face immediate consequences through official channels—but know that there are parents like me who are prepared to seek justice through other means.
You will face consequences on the street. We are not alone. We are fed up. And many more parents will follow.
Quite taken a back by this revelation. I was under the impression that corporal punishment disappeared after our era at school in the 50s and early 60s.
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