CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN SCHOOLS AND PARENTAL AUTHORITY

As a follow up on my post of 15th May,2015, the business of today's post is to determine whether or not the mother of the school boy that was flogged by his classroom teacher in our scenario in that post has any legal remedy in the Nigerian law having resolved to redress the flogging of her son. See that post at www.mylegalgists.blogspot.com for a recap.

First, it is pertinent to note that corporal punishment in the Nigerian primary and secondary schools is a corrective measure to preserve our moral code as an organized society and it had been in use for long before the advent of some international treaties on fundamental human rights whose provisions have now found their way into the Nigerian domestic laws, for example, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended and the Child's Right Act of 2013.

Section 34 (1)(a)  of the 1999 Constitution as amended provides that no person shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment.There is no gainsaying that this is a fundamental human right and a child is not exempted from this right.Also, there is a similar provision in the Child's Right Act.

In our scenario, the act of the teacher flogging his pupil amounted to the violation of  the pupil's right under the Child's Right Act and ultimately under the Constitution regardless of whether or not the teacher had acted under the child's parents' authority or the school authority or any other authority.The pupil's right to the dignity of his human person was absolute  in the circumstances.

Therefore, the mother of the pupil in that story can sue the teacher joining the school authority which is vicariously liable for the conduct of its employee.It is important to note that the pupil is too young to sue since he is still a minor.It is his mother or any other adult that can sue on his behalf as his next friend.The court to approach is the high court of the state where the incident occurred. If the plaintiff succeeds, she shall be awarded damages.

Thank you for you attention.

Have a nice day!