Many parents prefer to remain silent, lest the academic careers of their wards are hampered.

'Corporal punishment is in vogue not only in municipal and government schools, but also in elite institutions in the state, at times even extended to parents and guardians in a somewhat discreet manner although they have to tolerate for lack of options,' Justice Ranjan Gogoi, a judge of the Gauhati High Court, said in his speech.

Another northeastern state of Mizoram ranks second in the list of Indian schools where corporal punishment is rampant.

The Unicef study highlights the instance of a Class 9 student in Mizoram who refused to continue her studies after she was beaten on her bare bottom by a teacher in front of her classmates.

Though the school authorities later apologised to her parents and sacked the erring teacher, the hapless girl refused to go to that school again and the trauma continued to haunt her in a new school she was admitted to.

'We need acknowledge the fact that corporal punishment could impede the child's overall development due to humiliation,' the chief minister said.