Education Rights

Teacher Uses Corporal Punishment on Your Child

Q: Your child misbehaved seriously — we need some form of physical deterrent. What do you suggest we do?

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Q: Your child said they are fine with it — no harm was done.

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A teacher physically punishes a student at school in violation of the legal prohibition

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The Situation

What They Said

“A caning is part of discipline — it is how we maintain order in this school. Parents gave us authority to discipline their children.”

A teacher, headteacher, or other school staff member physically punishes a child — caning, slapping, kneeling on hard surfaces, or other forms of corporal punishment — as a disciplinary measure at school. Despite a clear legal prohibition, corporal punishment remains common in many Kenyan schools. Parents often do not know it is unlawful, or feel powerless to challenge school authority.

The Fallacy

Parental Delegation and Tradition Justify Corporal Punishment

The school treats corporal punishment as part of its delegated disciplinary authority from parents, or as an established educational tradition. The Children Act 2022 and the Basic Education Act 2013 have abolished corporal punishment in all schools, regardless of tradition, parental consent, or perceived effectiveness. No parent can delegate what they themselves are now prohibited from doing; no tradition continues where the law has specifically abolished the practice.

What the Law Says

Your Legal Foundation

Children Act, 2022 (No. 29 of 2022)

Section 18 and 19 — Prohibition of Corporal Punishment

“No person shall subject a child to torture, cruel treatment or punishment, unlawful arrest or detention, or any other form of violence. Corporal punishment of a child is prohibited in all settings, including the home, schools, alternative care, and the penal system.”

Corporal punishment is prohibited in all settings — at home and at school. The prohibition is absolute; there is no exception for 'reasonable chastisement' in schools. A teacher who canes a child is committing an offence under the Children Act.

Basic Education Act, 2013 (No. 14 of 2013)

Section 12 — Prohibition of Corporal Punishment in Schools

“A teacher or other person engaged in the provision of basic education shall not administer corporal punishment to a learner. A person who contravenes this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonment.”

Corporal punishment by a teacher is a criminal offence under the Basic Education Act, attracting a fine or imprisonment. A complaint can be filed with the school, the County Director of Education, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), or the police. The TSC can suspend or deregister a teacher for corporal punishment offences.

What Scripture Says

God's Word on This

Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

Paul's instruction is against the kind of treatment that crushes a child — that provokes rather than forms. Physical punishment applied by force, in anger, and in front of peers humiliates and exasperates. The training God has in mind is formative, relational, and dignifying — not punitive in ways that wound. This is entirely consistent with a law that protects children from violence in the name of discipline.

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What They'll Say Next

Common Counter-Arguments

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They might say: “Your child misbehaved seriously — we need some form of physical deterrent. What do you suggest we do?”

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They might say: “Your child said they are fine with it — no harm was done.”

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