School is a very special place that is a blessing to all of us who have attended it. In schools, we receive education and learn about things that build up our character. Education does not have any use unless a positive and appropriate character represents it.

Now the question that should worry all of us is what sort of character a teacher should build of his students if he beats them up when they make a mistake?

A video went viral on social media in which a teacher had the student pinned to the wall, as he was a holding a wooden stick in the other hand. The incident took place in a private elementary school in Al-Ahsa province.

Apparently, the teacher had caught the student laughing and kept asking him why he was laughing. While asking the question he slapped the student three times and the student kept denying that he was laughing.

The student was terrified and on the verge of crying as the teacher continued to verbally assault him while holding him against the wall.  

The teacher was fired as the video went viral and the concerned authorities took action against him. The spokesman of Ministry of Education, Mubarak Al-Osaimi posted on his Twitter account that the teacher had been fired after being previously warned several times for the same behavior.

Perhaps the teacher did not understand that physical abuse against a child is considered as a serious crime. Slapping, hitting or any type of bodily abuse is considered as physical abuse which was surely committed by the teacher.

After the incident, the Department of Education in Al-Ahsa has formed a team which will make sure that students will not be beaten for misbehavior or any reasonbut will rather be referred to the student guidance who will deal with the matter.

Manal Kayal, a Ph.D. in counseling and psychotherapy has shared her thoughts on the causes of such abuse to children. She said that the people are not able to understand a young person’s developmental stages and their behavior while going through these stages.

Another reason might be that the person carries a negative attitude towards the children. She said that some teachers might have “unrealistic” expectation of the child’s development.

The psychotherapist also said that people might be suffering from a disorder which makes them mentally unfit. These disorders include the explosive disorder and the bipolar disorder.

She said that such people cannot fully take care of themselves let alone take care and understand the children. A lawyer, Nojoud, Al-Qassem also shared his views when he said that this act of physical abuse to a child is a crime by law and also violates the teachings of Islam.

It is mandatory, according to international laws, to protect the children from an abusive environment. In addition to all this, Article 23 allows the child to file a complaint against the violator which will then allow the court to determine the penalty for the abusive action.

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