Teacher canes pupils over forgotten pencils

Parents of the children had lodged a complaint with the local education authorities, who said they would take action.

DHAKA, March 9, 2010 (AFP) - Eight Bangladeshi children received treatment in hospital after being caned by their headmistress for forgetting to bring coloured pencils to school, police said Tuesday.

"She went on the rampage when she realised the students had not brought their pencils and they refused to explain why," inspector Ismail Hossain told AFP after the incident in the southern town of Feni.

He said the eight were released from hospital after being given first aid.

Parents of the children had lodged a complaint with the local education authorities, who said they would take action.

Beatings are widespread in Bangladeshi schools although corporal punishment has technically been banned since 1995.

A study by UNICEF in October last year found that nine out of 10 children in Bangladesh are physically beaten in school, with seven out of 10 reporting they receive similar treatment at home.