Education System
Further information: School corporal punishment"The State should protect students' rights to learning, to education, to their physical integrity and their human dignity, and should protect them from any form of corporal punishment, which constitutes a physical and psychological violation."
Article 8 of the Fundamental Law of Education (since December 2006)Corporal punishment in the education system was banned in December 2006 through an amendment to the country's Fundamental Law of Education which came into force in January 2007. The prohibition applies to all educational institutions, including public and private schools and kindergartens, universities and all types of "cram" schools.
The amendment followed years of campaigning by child rights organizations such as the Humanistic Education Foundation, as well as the government's commitment in August 2005 to work towards the elimination of all corporal punishment in public education. Contributing to the amendment was also a public debate generated by corporal punishment case in October 2005 which attracted widespread media attention. The case involved a teacher repeatedly hitting a student with a wooden stick on the hands and backside for failing to hand in homework.
The amendment banning corporal punishment had the support of President Chen Shui-bian and Prime Minister Frank Hsieh and was passed by a wide margin in the Legislative Yuan. Guan Bi-ling, a legislator from the Democratic Progressive Party declared that,
| “ | Corporal punishment has been a cultural practice in Taiwan. But we believe schools and homes are the most important environment for kids to grow up and we need to eliminate this practice... Many countries worldwide have banned corporal punishment in schools by law - including China. We think Taiwan is an advanced country, and we shouldn't trail behind. | ” |
Corporal punishment in Taiwanese schools had been banned even before the legal amendment of 2006, but this was a government regulation rather than a formal law.
Read more about this topic: Corporal Punishment In Taiwan
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