Ministry of Education has Zero Tolerance for Corporal Punishment

Judith Cacho

Last week, forty-five-year-old teacher Judith Cacho was arraigned for allegedly harming an eight-year-old student. The student, Anthony Adolphus, is accusing Cacho of hitting him in the eye with a ruler on January sixteenth at Queen Square Anglican School. Cacho pled not guilty to the charge and was released on bail. The incident brings to light the issue of corporal punishment which was not only banned a decade ago but made illegal. We asked Education Minister, Patrick Faber for a comment on the matter.

Patrick Faber, Minister of Education

“We have a zero tolerance policy for corporal punishment so if the teacher is found to have been guilty on that then there is zero tolerance on the part of the Ministry.”

Patrick Faber

Reporter

“You said zero tolerance for corporal punishment but would you have felt the same way if she had just like hit him and not injured him so severely?”

Patrick Faber

“No. Our position is zero tolerance. You should not be hitting a child in a small way or a big way. There are clear cut circumstances where a teacher may use some level of force in rather to protect; I think the law speaks about that very clearly. If it is not in that instance then it is considered to be corporal and again the ministry has zero tolerance for that. That is something that can be punished and so her management yes can bring a charge against her and make a decision to send it to the TSC.”