The Supreme Education Council (SEC) has issued new guidelines for independent (government-funded) schools, reminding them not to use corporal punishment against children and banning mobile phones on school premises.

The regulations come three weeks after a local school principal faced trial for repeatedly stabbing a second-grader with a sharpened pencil. 

According to the SEC, a ban on phones will help facilitate discipline and eliminate privacy concerns related to the cameras.

And instead of harsh punishments, the new guidelines advise teachers to encourage good manners and use positive reinforcement when handling children with behavioral problems.

 The Peninsula reports:

No school is permitted to punish a student by denying food, deducting marks or reducing grades or insulting him in front of other students… It is also not allowed to send a student home as a punishment for turning up late at school. The common practice of punishing an entire class for the mistake of a single student or a few students has also been banned.

Increased communication with the parents of “problem children” is also recommended. 

Thoughts?