STUDENTS CANED ON CAMPUS

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Last academic term, our Geography master Mr. Peter "Robo" Yeboah caned one student so harshly that it resulted in laceration of the boys head, causing him to bleed profusely.

This act was deemed barbaric by the students. So, in retaliation, the victim's friends went on rampage and destroyed the glass window of Robo's vehicle on campus. They basically destroyed the car and pushed it into the O-Square Gardens.

Headmaster asked the boys to bring their parents to the school this term to sign a bond that they will not do that again. The parents came and that issue was settled.

Robo, the Geography master who squashed someone's head with a cane.

It may be recalled that the former Headmaster, E.A. Sekyere, banned caning on campus. During his time, he was able to maintain a high order of discipline on the campus of the Royal School without caning anyone. In fact, there were no canes available on campus during his tenure.

Then suddenly, as soon as a new Headmaster replaced him, the same masters who were forbidden from caning in the past, suddenly found the courage to cane again. The caning was re-introduced by the former Senior Housemaster, Mr. Obeng Odoom, who is now an Assistant Headmaster at Tema Secondary School.

From a medical/anatomical point of view, the human back is a very sensitive area that is rich in intricate nerves carrying fibers to the brain. To actually cane someone on the back -- of all places -- is a very cruel and unusual punishment.

We at prempeh.org are strongly opposed to this inhumane practice. Couldn't the Administration find another way to punish the 6 students involved, besides lashing them in the back? Couldn't they find any where less sensitive on the body to apply their torture?

In fact, the fact that a former Head of the College found it wholesome to abolish that practice, means that our condemnation of that act should not be viewed as an attack on this Administration. This writing is merely a condemnation of a practice and not an ad hominem attack. The criticism here is being raised to stir a debate as to the appropriateness of this practice. Should caning still continue in this modern age, or should it be completely abandoned?

Besides, several Amanfoo have already voiced their opinion about this issue. And our statement here merely reflects the popular opinion

In some few cases, caning is warranted. But as several Prefects (some current, some previous) have confided in us, most of the caning done on the campus are uneccesary. "They are purely baseless," as one prefect recently told us. "Prempeh teachers love to cane just for the love of inflicting pain on human soul," another prefect pointed out.

One student pointed out, "I think most of the masters seem to be wicked, unforgiving and too strict. All of them don't know how to handle young students. They often resort to wipping the students with canes and unecessary use of force instead of finding simple solutions to some problems."

Another student pointed out, "We are living in a modern world today and that primitive and harsh treatment of students by using canes to wip them seems to be barbaric. The students often tend to fear them and not respect them."

Another recent graduate stated, "I think caning at certain degrees is okay but to the extremes is really bad. The extreme type is what is always seen in the college now. Masters now cane anyhow without thinking of the effect it will have on the child. They even sometimes take these acts to the examination hall. The college has really come far and as such the boys should be trained as students and not as soldiers. The caning is too much, I mean we are in a new era where our degree of civilisation doesn't permit us to use such inhuman treatments anymore."

How long are we going to remain captives of this human frailty? We beat up people who are far removed from their parents -- at a stage in life where they are most vulnerable -- and beat them till they bleed, like Robo did, then with no immediate medical care available, we leave them restrained in their dorms to mend the physical and psychological scars. Were there any nurses on hand to attend to the young man's pain and bleeding when Robo scarred him?

How many of these Prempeh teachers today would love to have their wards placed in the position of the children they are beating?