Survey finds physical punishment still common practice in Moroccan schools

Physical punishment remains a common practice in Moroccan schools as 85% of polled pupils said they have been beaten by their teachers, despite the fact that the practice is banned in schools.

A survey on "punishment and violence in schools" conducted by a Moroccan NGO with the UNICEF support showed that nine out of 10 teachers do beat their pupils in classrooms. Out of a sample of 120 pupils, including 64 boys and 56 girls aged between 3 and 15 years, 70% of children have received physical punishment and the rate reaches 82% in state schools.

Pupils said causes for receiving a physical punishment are chatting during the class (29%) and failure to do homework (28%). The preferred target of teachers are hands (50%), face and head (10.8%) and feet sole (8.69%).