The Minister of Justice and National Integration of Sri Lanka presented a draft bill to amend the Penal code on August 19, 2025, with the aim of preventing children from being subjected to corporal punishment in schools. The bill was read in Parliament for the first and second time and is now expected to be referred to the Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on Governance, Justice and Civil Protection. SOCs are mechanisms for more deliberative decision making than possible in the chamber of Parliament.

Meanwhile the President has indicated that the government is ready to withdraw the bill. That would be a mistake. Our informed opinion is that all amendments except the new section 308B are essential reforms. These other amendments in the penal code take away the existing exceptions to any flogging etc. by educators while introducing a new Section 308B takes the matter too far.

Section 308B adds a clause that further refines any harm physical or verbal as “however slight” and makes schools which are supposed to be “Loco Parentis” or “in place of parents” places into legal battles grounds where words by a teacher, if perceived by a student or parent as having caused however slight harm, could lead to criminal proceedings against a teacher.

To elaborate, the bill seeks to amend sections 82, 308A and 341 of the Criminal Code and add new sections 308B, 314A, 316A. Some of these relevant sections are repeated here for ease of argument but readers are warned to refer to the original documents at the end of this paper if they wish to quote any.
From the discussion held on the above topic by the Movement for a Just Society on Sunday, October 5th, and from examining the relevant documents, we are of the opinion that the amendment to Sections 82, 308A and 341 of the Criminal Code, which remove exceptions that say it is not an offence to commit violence against children with good intentions, is timely and essential, but the newly added Section 308B is very questionable and must be removed.

The rest of this article will explain why.

Timely and Essential Amendments
Two of the amendments are timely and essential. For example, Section 82 of the Penal Code, which deals with “acts done in good faith for the benefit of a child or a person of unsound mind by or by consent of” states:
“Nothing which is done in good faith for the benefit of a person under twelve years of age, or of unsound mind, by or by consent, either express of implied, if the guardian or other person having lawful charge of that person, is an offence by reason of any harm which it may cause, or be intended to cause, or be intended by the doer to cause, or be known by the doer to cause, or be known by the doer to be likely to cause, to that person.”

The amendment bill adds that:
“this exception shall not extend to the infliction of corporal punishment in respect of children.”

There seems to be no disagreement about the addition of a fifth exception, as there has been a widely held agreement in society that should be done.

Similarly, the amendment to Section 341 also seems timely. For example, Section 341 of the Penal Code, entitled “Criminal Coercion”, states:

“ Whoever intentionally uses force to any person, without that person’s consent, in order to the committing of any offence, or intending illegally by the use of such force to cause, or knowing it to be likely that the use of such force he will illegally cause injury, fear, or annoyance to the person to whom the force is used, is said to use “Criminal force” to that other” with Illustration (i) – A, a school master, in the reasonable exercise of his discretion as master, flogs B, one of his scholars. A does not use criminal force to B, because, although A intends to cause fear and annoyance to B, he does not use force illegally.”

This amendment bill is important in that it removes the illustration (a) which exempts a teacher who flogs a student.

Amendments to increase penalties for offenders

The newly added sections 314A and 316A, in addition to the existing imprisonment and fine penalties under the previous Act, impose a penalty on those who voluntarily punish children, subjecting the offender to a compensation of an amount determined by the court.

Questionable new section 308B
Newly introduced Section 308B which defines “any act of inflicting pain or humiliation, however slight,” as corporal punishment” is highly problematic.

“308B (1) Any person who, having the care, custody or protection of a person under the age of eighteen years— (a) does any act of physical force with the knowledge that it will cause pain or discomfort, however slight, as a means of punishment or as a means of correction; or (b) does any act other than physical with the knowledge that it will cause pain or discomfort, however slight, as a means of punishment or as a means of correction, commits the offence of corporal punishment.” [Criminal Law Amendment Bill, July 08, 2025].

A respected retired principal warns as follows on how this kind of legal language gets played out at the ground level.

Views of retired senior principal Pathiraja Menike
“The primary function of the school is to teach and educate children and to produce good citizens who conform to the social norms and that requires discipline. The medical opinion is that the student should be disciplined with positive and motivational approaches. The entire school system agrees with this scientific basis. But the reality of the school system or society is different.
In our society, different communities discipline their children through their own unique methods. This also seems to vary from family to family. Since parents in a society have a certain obligation to discipline their children, I believe that imposing strict standards on this obligation within a legal framework will not be tolerated by society.

Similarly, a school or classroom is a place where teachers and principals act loco parentis, or in place of parents, and where there is constant exchange between teachers, students, and the principal. These exchanges become difficult when the schools are crowded, and some children are unruly. Children who try to act against the norms in the school system are often those who have been subjected to mental and physical abuse at home since childhood. Managing such a classroom is not easy. Teaching in a crowded classroom ultimately leads to a teacher becoming very tired and the exchanges are not always optimal.

Let me give an example. When a teacher asks questions, it is possible that the teacher may skip a student who takes a long time to answer the question and let another student answer the question. In such a situation, not giving that child the turn to ask the question could be interpreted as causing emotional distress to the student.

A school is a very special place, and it is necessary to examine carefully how appropriate it is to make teachers act with the fear of imprisonment in such a place. Corporal punishment or causing mental distress to children is not acceptable. But new laws should be formulated with great caution regarding the adverse impact of strict standards within a legal framework on the important teacher-student relationship.”

Existing Laws to prevent harm to children
The Ministry of Education Circular No. 12/2016 emphasizes the importance of maintaining discipline in schools without inhuman physical or mental punishment and emphasizes the need to ensure that an environment free from child abuse is created in schools.

The same circular states that if students are punished even for the purpose of maintaining school discipline, they will have to face the following legal actions.

(i) A case of violation of fundamental rights may arise in accordance with Section 11 of Chapter III and Section 126 of Chapter XVI of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka.
(ii) A case may arise under Section 3 of the Penal Code No. 22 of 1995 and Section 308A of the Principal Statute for the offence of subjecting children to cruelty [cause him suffering or injury to health including any mental derangement]. Accordingly, if the Attorney General reports that judicial action can be taken in the investigation of the facts presented in relation to the incident, a case may be filed against the relevant offenders.
(iii) If it is proven from disciplinary investigations conducted by the relevant authorities in education that corporal punishment has been administered, disciplinary action may be taken in accordance with Chapter 11 of the Establishments Code.

Furthermore, the circular states that the “National Child Protection Authority has been established by the Act of Parliament No. 50 of 1998 with special powers, including the regulation of the progress of all investigations and criminal proceedings in relation to child abuse”, and the circular instructs that full support should be provided to that authority.”

A multi-pronged approach is needed to protect children from harmful punishment
As mentioned earlier, it is important to amend sections 82 and 318 of the Penal Code which condone violence against children, but we should not introduce additional laws that would make a special place in the Penal Code, as the principal of Pathiraja Menike did. Instead, it is necessary to implement multi-pronged mechanisms for the protection of children and constantly educate parents and teachers about them.
In the case of the suicide of 15-year-old Dilshi Amshika, a student, on April 29, 2025, as a result of a sexual assault that occurred at school and a series of related incidents, the school system protected the suspected teacher, but an investigation was initiated against that by the police based on a complaint made to the police by the judicial officer of the government hospital to which the child was taken for treatment, a case was filed against the teacher. But sadly, that was not enough. Even though Amshika moved to another school system she was still stigmatized as somebody who causes trouble and other reasons that we don’t understand fully, and the child eventually committed suicide.
There is evidence that our society or some sections of society are ready to ignore sexual abuse of children and accept punishment as a necessity. But laws alone cannot build a society. A strong government can remove sections 82 and 318 from the Penal Code, which condone violence against children, and create other multi-faceted protection measures.

In addition to raising awareness about the protection measures in the circular Eman Isa 12/2016, the following steps should be taken.

1. Immediately establish committees responsible for providing a conducive environment for every child in school, in accordance with the Regulation on Compulsory School Attendance of Children No. 1 of 2015 published in Gazette No. 1963/30 of 2016 or any other regulation updated by the new government if necessary. Assign the responsibility for their proper monitoring to the provincial authorities. The central government should also conduct an annual inquiry into them.

2. Make it mandatory for schools to inform all parents, using a leaflet, about the rights and responsibilities of parents when enrolling a child in school, as well as information about the services available to parents from the school and local, regional, provincial and national authorities, various committees and the National Child Protection Authority.

Sources
• Penal Code with amendments up to 1998. https://hrlibrary.umn.edu/research/srilanka/statutes/Penal_Code.pdf
• 2017 Ministry of Education Circular: 12/2017
• 2021 High Court Judgment: SC/FR/97/2017 https://stopchildcruelty.com/media/doc/scfr_97_17.pdf
• 2025 Amendment Act https://documents.gov.lk/view/bills/2025/8/630-2025_E.pdf

Notes:
Do not quote the legal texts provided here directly. For citation, please use the above original sources.
Contributions by Attorney-at-Law Gayathrie Navaratne and the National Movement for Social Justice are gratefully acknowledged.