Melbourne, Nov 17 (IANS) An Australian primary school has banned students from hugging on its premises, a media report said Wednesday.
Some parents said children at the William Duncan State School in Gold Coast city of Queensland are being punished with detention for hugging or touching their friends, the Herald Sun said, citing a Gold Coast Bulletin report.
According to the report, the policy was developed by the school’s Parents and Citizens Association and reviewed each year, with most members approving measures for students to keep their hands, feet and objects to themselves.
However, some parents objected to the ban.
Ross Kouimanis, a father of five, labelled the decision ‘an absolute joke’.
‘Kids hug all the time. My high school daughter hugs her friends. It’s perfectly normal,’ Kouimanis said.
‘It’s political correctness gone mad. Banning kids hugging? It’s ridiculous,’ he said.
Kouimanis’s daughter Emily was given a warning for hugging her best friend, the report said.
‘My best friend and I confronted the teacher and she said it was a new school rule and some kids have been sent to detention for hugging,’ Emily said.
Education Queensland South Coast Regional director Glen Hoppner said there was no EQ policy banning hugging in schools.
‘William Duncan State School has determined that unwanted or unnecessary physical contact, which in some circumstances can include hugging, is inappropriate playground behaviour,’ Hoppner said.
‘The school is mindful of protecting their right to not be touched in an unwanted or inappropriate way.’
