Being reprimanded or punished is a natural aspect of schooling life. For example, if a student does badly in a spelling test, they may be punished by being made to spell the word 10 times.
The difference between punishments that are reasonable and those that are not is whether they are constructive and effective in helping a student learn or be better.
Unfortunately, not all teachers understand this and may resort to giving unreasonable punishments, which may not only be ineffective, but also become harmful at times.
Recently, a student from a school in Riau, Indonesia passed away while carrying out a teacher’s punishment of soaking in a fish pond for 5 minutes.
The 17-year-old student, M Hafiz and 3 of his friends were punished for leaving their dormitory without permission.
A police spokesperson, Mardiono said, “The incident happened when the 17-year-old victim and his three friends left their dormitory to buy food and didn’t return until dawn after they went to watch a football match.”
“After that, the victim and his friends returned to their dormitory but were discovered by one of the teaching staff there,” he said, adding that “All the students admitted their mistake and were punished by the teaching staff to soak in the fish pond for 5 minutes.”
When the staff member asked the students to come back up and clean themselves up, the victim did not come to the surface, prompting the staff member to ask the other students to check on him.
As he was carried out of the pool, the victim was unconscious and was rushed to the hospital before being pronounced dead.
According to Kompas, it is believed that the victim’s family refused to perform an autopsy and requested that the victim’s body be taken to his hometown.
What a tragic incident. Hopefully this is a reminder to all figures of authority to be more mindful of the punishments they give.
Also read: Ustaz Breaks 9yo Boy’s Leg For Taking Too Long To Bring Back Quran
