TAXILA: A 9-year-old student of a local primary school was allegedly subjected to corporal punishment by his teacher for not learning his lesson, his family said on Friday.

Sajid Mehmood told reporters that his son, Abdul Rehman, who is a 3rd grade student at the Government Primary School Railway Road, was severely beaten with a stick by his teacher.

The minor showed his injuries to the media and he had visible marks on his back due to being hit by a cane.

He said that despite the fact that the slogan Maar Nahin Pyaar is inscribed on the school`s entrance gate, teachers are continuously using sticks and canes to enforce discipline in class rooms.

Mr Mehmood told reporters that he is a poor employee of the Punjab Health Department and cannot af ford the costly education of a private school, so he enrolled his son at the local government primary school where minors aresubjected to physical torture.

Munaza Peerzada, chairperson of a local NGO working in the education and social sector, said that efforts to justify some kind of punishment to `enforce discipline` have defeated the very purpose of anti-corporal punishment campaigns in schools.

When contacted, Deputy District Officer (education) Sher Afzal said he took notice of the violation of the corporal punishment ban and the teacher was suspended on Friday.

He added that departmental action under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act has been initiated against her and the district ofhcer of Rawalpindi would himself lead the inquiry that begun on Friday.

A bill prohibiting corporal punishment for children in educational institutions was passed in the National Assembly in March 2013.

It declared any form of corporal punishment in academic institutions as illegal, with those found guilty to be sentenced to a year in prison or pay a fine worth Rs50,000 or both.