Africa News Service, 3 June 1998

Christian Schools Say Ban on Caning is Unconstitutional

Johannesburg (Business Day, June 3, 1998) - The law which prohibits corporal punishment in schools is unconstitutional insofar as it applies to independent schools, according to an application lodged with the Constitutional Court by 209 independent Christian schools on Monday.

The schools claim the ban is against Christian parenting principles and should be removed from the statutes.

Most of the schools contesting the law are affiliated to Accelerated Christian Education, an evangelical movement based in the US. The movement claims that "corporal training" is both a biblical injunction and an essential tool in bringing children under God's discipline. The schools claim that the prohibition also goes against national consensus.

Copyright 1998 Business Day. Distributed via Africa News Online.

Follow-up: 14 October 1998 - Constitutional Court dismisses corporal punishment application