Abstract

      The paper examines the issue of punishment in the process of education within the Zimbabwean context, especially as it applies to primary and secondary school formal education. It addresses the problem as to whether punishment as a tool of educating should be part of the process of education, which is by and large a worthwhile activity. In essence, it addresses the issue of whether punishment and the process of education are compatible. Despite the growing consensus that punishment breaches children's fundamental human rights, the paper attempts to provide a philosophical justification of the institution of punishment, contrary to these contemporary calls from humanitarian quarters for the abolition of punishment from the Zimbabwean education. Given the fact that education is a process through which desirable states of the mind are developed in a morally acceptable manner, focus will be at examining the justification of punishment as a tool for conformity and practice in the process of educating primary and secondary school children within the Zimbabwean context. Hence, it establishes that whatever its purported negative and legal implications, punishment serve the retributive, deterrent and reformative functions. 

Key words: Punishment, deterrence, retribution, reform, education, Zimbabwe.