Many Taiwanese teachers beat their students, force them into stress positions or subject them to abusive language despite an island-wide ban on such punishments, a survey said Thursday.
More than 95 percent of students in junior high school reported witnessing teachers imposing this type of irregular punishment in the classroom, said the survey conducted by the non-profit Humanistic Education Foundation.
About 30 percent of the 1,122 junior high schoolers interviewed by the foundation said they themselves had received corporal punishment at schools, along with 24 percent of the 1,112 elementary schoolers surveyed.
The survey results suggest that a ban on physical and verbal punishments introduced in Taiwanese schools in 2006 is being widely ignored.
The foundation said verbal abuse was more common than corporal punishment, citing instances of teachers calling students “stupid,” “idiot,” or “trash”.
It added that this type of humiliating language was even more damaging than physical punishment.
If teachers violate the 2006 ban, they face demerits in minor cases or criminal prosecution if physical injuries are sustained, according to the education ministry.
An education official said the ministry’s own surveys found corporal punishment relatively uncommon. This year a total of 109 teachers were demerited for meting out corporal punishment, the official said.
Taiwan teachers abuse students despite ban: poll
