Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today spoke out against corporal punishment in schools which, he said, must have an environment free from fear, trauma and anxiety for the children.

"No child, irrespective of caste, gender or community to which he or she belongs should dread the thought of going to school," Dr Singh said while addressing Awardee Teachers on the eve of Teachers' Day here.

He said the Right to Education (RTE) Act banned corporal punishment and mental harassment as also detention and expulsion.

Dr Singh said these provisions had led many teachers to question how discipline would be maintained in the classroom.

"The answer to this important issue was given by the well known philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti: Discipline is an easy way to control a child, but it does not help him to understand the problems involved in living… If the teacher can give full attention to each child, observing and helping him, then compulsion or domination or discipline in any form may be unnecessary'," he said.