Members of Parliament expressed their disapproval to some clauses in the Education Amendment Bill, particularly the clause which seeks to outlaw corporal punishment in schools.
The MPs expressed their reservations during the Second Reading of the Bill in Parliament on Tuesday.
Bikita West MP, Elias Musakwa (ZANU PF), said that banning corporal punishment was retrogressive and will negatively impact on the progress the country has made in education. He said:
As Parliament, we will be judged harshly.
We have a value system as a country and society. We are all products of corporal punishment and abandoning it in favour of other forms of punishment, I do not think it will help us.
Zimbabwe is one of the few countries with a literacy rate above 90 per cent.
Another ZANU PF MP, Ronald Nyathi, who represents Shurugwi North constituency said:
I am visualising a situation where a pupil misbehaves, what do you expect the teacher to do? We are showing mistrust in our teachers.
Meanwhile,Buhera West MP, Joseph Chinotimba demanded that MDC Chief Whip Prosper Mutseyami apologise to Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda after he was booed by MDC supporters at the funeral of the late MDC MP Vimbai Tsvangirai-Java.
Mudenda concurred with the request but said they would wait to hear from the MDC-Alliance following the complaint.