Effects of Corporal Punishment Ban on High Schools in Zambia

Education the world over is guided by policy. Every country has an obligation to guide the education policy makers in line with various international conventions and agreements. In dealing with education policy, it is imperative that the United Nations Convention on the rights of the children are taken into account. The step taken by the government of the Republic of Zambia to abolish corporal punishment in all schools in 2003, was a move complying with the UN convention cited above. However, the declaration has its own challenges as highlited in this book. From the time the pronouncement was made,several stake-holders have added their voice to the debate. The elderly, who went through pre independence and the early years of post independennce era up to 1970, feel that the move has created serious disciplinary issues in Zambian Schools, while the youths view the declaration as a positive move. The book brings to the fore the fact that education policy is key in changing the direction of any society and that policy pronouncement be followed by action.