Should School Prefect Be Allowed To Cane?

Chronicle (Levin), 9 March 1949, Page 5

Should School Prefect Be Allowed To Cane?

NELSON, March 8. A complaint tliat when a boy at Nelson College refused to ehrry out fatigue iniposed on him by the head prefect because he walked on a fo tbidden area of grass, the boy was seized by the prefect and two others and carried to a room where he was caned, was made at a meeting of' the College Council of Governors. Mr. T. Houlker, a member of the council, stated that he had been informed that the boy had been told to clean out a drain as punishment for having jvalked on grass where he should not have walked. The lad refused to fatigue and the head prefect and two Others waited for two or three days when they seized the boy, carried him into the college and caned him, the caning leaving weals that were apparent when he arrived home. The Trades Council which he represented, Mr. Houlker said, had discussed the question of caning by prefects several tiihes and its opinion was that it was very mtich against such punishments. believing that punishment for ' such offenees should be a question for the' headmaster to decide. ■ ■ The chairman, Mr. C. R. Fell, said he was in favour of havfng a report on the case. He thought there was a rule as to a limit to the number of strokes the head prefect could give and the boy to be punished had the right tb say whether he would take it from a prefect or from the headmaster. Mr. D. F. Horlor thought it might be better if such eanings were wiped out altogether. Discipline must be maintained but it was .not necessary that the head boy should cane a lad, 1. punishment by cane was indicated the head boy should report the case to the headmaster. It was not the wish to allow head boys to have such power. •Some excellent head boys in the past had been severely eriticised for these eanings. Matters of punishment shOnld be referred to a mature mind. The chairman said that within strict limits caning was a good thing. Caning in the case under discussion was, he pointed out, for defying a rule when told to observe it. Reasonable punishment was due but there were aspects that had to be considered. The ineetiug decided to ask the principal for a report.