His opinion has not changed, but he was quick to add that it was his personal view, not the Government stance. Mr Elder said Parliament's removal of one form of punishment for serious offences had forced some schools to concentrate on other punishments, including suspensions and expulsions School principals contacted by the Herald yesterday were not in favour of corporal punishment returning to the schools. Reinstating corporal punishment was a backward step in a world where people were trying to eliminate all forms of violent disciplinary action, he said. Bringing it back wouldn't do any more good than what's on offer at the moment in terms of punishment in schools. It was ineffective and unfair when it was around, because boys were allowed to be caned but girls could not be.
Schools get to deal with the small things to prevent the big things developing and occurring.
Get rid of the big problem before it actually starts.