Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday abolished corporal punishment in the schools of the state following complaints and reports of torture by teachers in some schools.

Of late, the state government had been receiving complaints that teachers were using abusive language against children and were torturing them physically. One girl had reportedly committed suicide at the school premises recently at Salem while another student at suburban Tambaram had been admitted to a hospital following physical torture.

Taking serious note of these incidents and media reports about corporal punishment being given to school children, the government had appointed the committee headed by former director of School Education A Muthukrishnan. Accepting the recommendations of a committee, the government issued the orders on Tuesday, an official press release said.