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Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in Nigeria12.2.4 Discipline – corporal punishmentCorporal punishment, as discussed from <strong>the</strong> perspective <strong>of</strong> teachers in Chapter 11, is also important toconsider more from <strong>the</strong> perspective <strong>of</strong> pupil management and from pupils’ perspectives. Excessivecorporal punishment has been widely criticised by pupils, head teachers, parents and communitymembers, and government <strong>of</strong>ficials (Usman 2006; FME 2007b; Sherry 2008; Boulton et al. 2009;ActionAid 2011; Femi 2011; Coinco 2012; Little and Lewis 2012; UNICEF 2012; Dunne et al. 2013;Gabrscek and Usman 2013).To reiterate, studies in Nigeria have shown <strong>the</strong> following negative effects <strong>of</strong> unregulated corporalpunishment on pupils:Emotional distress, pupil inability to concentrate and reduced pupil participation in class (ActionAid2011; Dunne et al. 2013);Pupil absenteeism and dropout, especially among girls and nomadic pastoralists (Usman 2006; FME2007b; ActionAid 2011; UNICEF 2012; Dunne et al. 2013);Poor teacher–pupil and parent–teacher relations (Usman 2006; Sherry 2008; Dunne et al. 2013; Iwuand Iwu 2013);Parental conflict, including withdrawal <strong>of</strong> pupils from school (Usman 2006; Sherry 2008; Dunne et al.2013); and Permanent physical damage to pupils in extreme cases (Chianu 2000; Oluwakemi and Kayode 2007;Mahmoud et al. 2011).In addition, its gendered practice – with boys generally being beaten more <strong>of</strong>ten and more harshly,based on gender stereotypes <strong>of</strong> stronger, naughtier boys and weaker girls (Bakari 2013; Dunne et al.2013; see also Section 8.6) – is both inequitable and can promote a boys-versus-girls genderantagonism, which militates against gender equality (Chege et al. 2008).Box 12.2 UNICEF’s Child-Friendly School initiativeDeveloped as a partnership between FME and UNICEF, this global initiative was <strong>of</strong>ficially launched inNigeria in 2002 in several states and, at <strong>the</strong> time <strong>of</strong> its evaluation (UNICEF 2009a), involved 900schools that were attempting to be guided by <strong>the</strong> three interrelated principles <strong>of</strong> child-centredness,democratic participation and inclusiveness. 31Direct inputs from UNICEF involved:The establishment <strong>of</strong> SBMCs;The provision <strong>of</strong> resources such as classrooms and better furnishings;The provision <strong>of</strong> latrines, potable water, nutritional support, medical clinics and schoollibraries; andImprovements in <strong>the</strong> reliability <strong>of</strong> teacher salaries and o<strong>the</strong>r support for teachers.The external evaluation took place in FCT, Ebonyi and Niger states and involved one- or two-day visitsto 23 primary schools in predominantly rural locations, involving school and classroom observations(15-minute snapshots), questionnaires to teachers and pupils, interviews and focus group discussionswith teachers, head teachers, parents and o<strong>the</strong>r community members (although not with pupils).Most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> schools sampled had been involved in <strong>the</strong> project for over five years.31 The Nigeria programme’s technical committee specified 14 characteristics <strong>of</strong> CFS: Reflects and realises <strong>the</strong> rights <strong>of</strong> everychild; sees and understands <strong>the</strong> whole child, in a broad context; is child centred; is gender sensitive and girl friendly; promotesquality learning outcomes; provides education based on <strong>the</strong> reality <strong>of</strong> children's lives; is flexible and responds to diversity; actsto ensure <strong>the</strong> inclusion, respect and equality <strong>of</strong> opportunity for all children; provides education that is affordable andaccessible; enhances teacher capacity, morale, commitment, and status; is family focused; is community-based and promotescommunity cohesion (UNICEF 2009: 9).EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 139
Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in NigeriaThe report concluded that:Although <strong>the</strong>re are still some significant areas <strong>of</strong> concern that have a long-term impact onchildren’s outcomes, Nigeria has made substantial progress toward <strong>the</strong> provision <strong>of</strong> schools that arechild friendly (UNICEF 2009a: iv)Positive points <strong>the</strong> report highlighted included:Most schools made an effort to reach out to enrol all students, including students withdisabilities, despite lacking specialist teachers;There was a high level <strong>of</strong> awareness among staff <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> nutrition and health topupil learning and development (although most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> schools could no longer afford <strong>the</strong>school-feeding schemes);Classroom observations showed teachers were making steps toward ‘student-centredteaching’ and had similarly high expectations for girls and boys;Schools were generally clean and tidy and had drinking water and latrines (although <strong>the</strong> latterwere not always used);There seemed to be positive relations and open communication between <strong>the</strong> schools andcommunities; andMost pupils thought <strong>the</strong>ir school was a welcoming place for all types <strong>of</strong> pupil.At <strong>the</strong> same time, however, <strong>the</strong> report underlined <strong>the</strong> need to: improve social and emotional learningamong pupils to reduce peer bullying and aggressive behaviour; provide fur<strong>the</strong>r support to teachersin implementing positive behaviour-management techniques in <strong>the</strong> classroom and to create a morerespectful environment for pupils; to get communities more involved in raising funds to provide foodto <strong>the</strong> most needy and to improve safety for pupils on <strong>the</strong> way to and from school; and continueefforts to improve access to education for married and/or parenting young women.The GEP II evaluation was less enthusiastic, concluding that: ‘it is not apparent that <strong>the</strong> CFS concepthad been concretely embraced and implemented in nor<strong>the</strong>rn Nigeria’ (UNICEF 2012: 46). It urgedstakeholders to ‘think beyond inputs to practices’ (ibid.). While this is an important point,reconceptualising and changing practices arguably requires even more time and resources thanproviding infrastructure and materials. It was not clear from <strong>the</strong> later GEP II evaluation whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>schools were still receiving CFS support, and if so, what kinds <strong>of</strong> support.12.2.5 Alternatives to corporal punishmentIn <strong>the</strong> Adamawa study pupils <strong>of</strong>ten described a good teacher as one ‘who doesn’t beat’. Some schools’managers, under advice from <strong>the</strong> SUBEB, were attempting to do away with corporal punishment butwere meeting with resistance from teachers (Dunne et al. 2013). Alternative or complementarypunishments, however, were still <strong>of</strong>ten physical and <strong>of</strong>ten humiliating in nature and/or took time awayfrom learning (e.g. being made to run round <strong>the</strong> classroom, pick up litter, fetch water, carry a heavystone or frog-jump) (see also UNICEF 2012; Bakari 2013). Inside <strong>the</strong> classroom in particular, pupils weremade to kneel down for a length <strong>of</strong> time, sometimes with <strong>the</strong>ir arms outstretched (‘machine-riding’), ormaintain an awkward balancing position known as ‘<strong>the</strong> cockroach’ (Dunne et al. 2013).In place <strong>of</strong> physical punishment, pupils were sometimes excluded from school for not having <strong>the</strong>complete uniform or not possessing writing materials, although exclusion proved as controversial withparents as corporal punishment in some cases, as <strong>the</strong>y felt <strong>the</strong>ir child was being denied an opportunityto learn (Dunne et al. 2013).EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 140
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