Teenager in Hospital After Being Assaulted by Teacher

A 15-year-old student with a heart condition was taken to the hospital after his teacher physically assaulted him at a school in Tehran.

The literature teacher subjected the pupil to verbal and physical attacks, the father of the victim told Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA). “He suffered a serious cardiac malfunction as a result.” According to the father, his son, who he declined to name, was punished after he had asked to borrow an eraser from his classmate. The teacher, who was also not named, threw the son out of the classroom in a rage, causing the student to fall on his chest on the floor.

The headmaster, who was aware that the student suffered from a heart problem, contacted the parents immediately and questioned the boy about the details of the incident. The student’s mother took him to the hospital.

At the time of reporting, the parents were thought to have spent a considerable amount of their own money for their son’s medical treatment. He is reported to be terrified to return to school.

“When we asked the teacher about the case, he denied it,” the headteacher told ILNA. “But he insisted that he is ready to pay for all the medical expenses, and to apologize to the pupil and his parents.”

According to Manijeh Qorban-nejad, the educational specialist in Tehran District 9, the parents and the school had both reported the case to the regional office of the ministry of education.

Following the teacher’s apology and the submission of a signed statement that he would not repeat the behavior again, ILNA reported that the case had been closed. According to investigations into the case, the teacher had not been aware that the student suffered from a cardiac condition.

The incident, which took place at a Tehran District 9 school, is the third case of serious violence at a school in the last two weeks. On November 23, Mohsen Khashkhashi, a physics teacher in the city of Brujerd, was murdered  by a student, also 15. There were also reports that a teacher at Hossein Reigi primary school in Mirjaveh hit 9-year-old Abdolhamid Gergij with a gas pipe.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said that physical punishment of students is strictly forbidden. It is also forbidden for teachers to humiliate or insult pupils in their care.

Read the original article in Persian