Government will not follow a recommendation made by one of its task forces calling for the abolition of corporal punishment.

Education Minister Jerome Dill last night told The Royal Gazette "frankly I think we got it right'' when the punishment was kept in the new Education Act and the Code of Conduct for public schools.

He was responding to the recently-released report of the Task Force on Child Abuse chaired by former Attorney General Saul Froomkin.

In a scathing report about the inability of Government and community-based services to deal with child abuse, the task force strongly recommended that corporal punishment be banned in all schools, Government and private, and from "all institutions providing care or accommodation for children''.

"Although corporal punishment has been denigrated by virtually all professionals, has been abolished in most civilised countries, including the United Kingdom, and has been declared by the International Court of Human Rights to be cruel and unusual punishment, this brutal activity is not only condoned in Bermuda ... but is, according to the evidence presented to us, regularly employed,'' the ten-member team wrote.

But Mr. Dill, who is also a lawyer, said he disagreed with the task force's interpretation of the International Court of Human Rights' ruling on corporal punishment.

"I don't believe that it says corporal punishment is cruel and unusual punishment,'' he said, adding that he would need to have the Human Rights document in front of him to further explain his position.

However, both former Education Ministers Gerald Simons and Clarence Terceira have cited the international ruling on corporal punishment and both have voiced opposition to the form of discipline and had promised to get rid of it under the new Education Act.

But Mr. Dill said: "We take the view that corporal punishment is an important option for educators to have.'' He also pointed out that the majority of those consulted before the Code of Conduct was completed, including the National PTA and the Association of School Principals, were strongly supportive of keeping corporal punishment on the books.

"The National PTA wrote me a letter strongly in favour of it,'' he said.

"The ASP came out fully in favour of it. And after all, they are the ones that are charged with the administration of discipline in schools.

"We are not saying we should brutalise our children. But educators have called for a retention of corporal punishment as an option.'' Opposition Senate Leader and Bermuda Union of Teachers organiser Sen. Milton Scott said the union had never taken a position on corporal punishment because members had "varying positions''.

But he added: "Personally I think it should be abolished.'' Caning ban call rejected by Dill "The European Convention on Human Rights, to which the United Kingdom is a signatory, has declared corporal punishment to be cruel and unusual punishment. That is the law and Bermuda should be following the law,'' he said.

Sen. Scott noted that in November, 1992, then Education Minister Mr. Simons pointed out that Bermuda as a British colony should follow the UK's lead on corporal punishment.

"We have to take a humanitarian approach toward this,'' he said. "No-one should be flogging someone's children.'' However, neither the Ministry nor the Department of Education made submissions to the task force on child abuse.

"No request was made for a private or public hearing before the task force as a whole, nor before any individual or sub-group of the task force,'' the task force revealed.

It also noted that a counsellor, who wished to remain anonymous, said school counsellors were reluctant to make submissions because they felt "fearful of their own victimisation if they spoke out about their perceptions of the work and status of counselling services in the school system''.

Three school counsellors, who came forward on an individual basis and asked for private hearings, indicated that school counsellors often felt "overwhelmed by the heavy case loads they carry; the severity of the problems experienced by their students and presented to the counsellors for resolution''.

But the committee said that because of the lack of submissions from the Ministry, it was unable to "accurately'' reflect the nature and extent of services provided to abused children in the public school system, comment on the Ministry's views and opinions regarding services provided, or make recommendations for changes.

Mr. Dill downplayed the counsellors' fears about victimisation, saying that just because they had those fears did not mean they would actually be victimised.

"Obviously, we are concerned here with the period which pre-dated my becoming Education Minister,'' he added before referring The Royal Gazette to task force member and senior education officer of Student Services Joeann Smith.

While noting that she did make a written submission to the task force, Ms Smith admitted: "Because I was on the committee, it put them and the Ministry in an awkward position.'' However, she added: "The fact that nothing appeared in the report does not equal that nothing is being done by the Ministry about child abuse. Like the rest of the community we're very concerned about the impact child abuse has on every aspect of the child's life and we are working to decrease that impact and provide the child with the level of support that is needed.'' Asked about the counsellors' fears of "victimisation'', Ms Smith said: "Obviously since they said it, it is a feeling that some counsellors are experiencing and we need to acknowledge that.

"But I can also confirm that the Ministry always has an open-door policy.'' However, Shadow Education Minister Jennifer Smith said the Ministry and any member of the public which read about the counsellors' remarks should be concerned.

And while she admitted that she had not yet read the entire report, Ms Smith told The Royal Gazette : "The question to be asked by anybody is why they (counsellors) have that fear, whether it is well founded or not. And if it is so, they (Ministry officials) should be trying to correct it.''