Raipur, Feb. 12: Teachers with a penchant for caustic remarks and use of force will have to think twice before they try to teach students a lesson.

In an attempt to spare children the rod, the Chhattisgarh Human Rights Commission (CHRC) has ruled that teachers should avoid taking harsh steps in the classroom.

Commission chairman L.J. Singh issued an order to the district collectors on February 6, asking them to enforce the ruling without delay. The district education officers then issued circulars to the schools.

While most of the schools in the capital received the order yesterday, the remaining ones are likely to get the same in a day or two.

The order will be implemented in private and state-aided schools besides those managed by the government.

?We received the circular yesterday. The management will discuss the matter tomorrow to strictly implement the order in the school,? said Nikhat Qureshi, a senior teacher with a private school in Raipur.

The government should frame guidelines on how to maintain discipline in school, as it would now be a ?daunting task? for the teachers to keep students under control, she added.

Though similar orders have been issued in the past, said Nikhat, none of those was as specific and stringent as the latest ruling.

The CHRC order stipulates that teachers cannot resort to mental, financial or corporal punishment of any kind. So, students will no longer have to stand on benches or kneel down even if they commit mistakes or are caught in acts of mischief.

The good news for students continues. The teachers cannot slap them, nor can they twist their ears. They also cannot use abusive language or make derogatory remarks.

In the case of English-medium schools, students cannot be punished for speaking in languages other than English. Also, an erring student will not be made to write and display words like ?I am a donkey? and the teachers, on their part, cannot refer to him/her by that name.

However, not everyone is sure about the feasibility of the no-punishment system. ?It will not be an easy task for the teachers to implement the order,? said Dipannita Chakraborty, the owner of a private school here.

Teachers have been scolding and punishing students, who are found breaking the rules or not doing their studies properly, for years. ?How can they change their style of functioning, which has been followed for such a long time?? she asked.

Chakraborty said teachers resort to strict action only when they are provoked. ?But now, there will be no parameter to teach the students the lesson of discipline,? she rued.