A video circulating of a teacher’s rough handling of a student has been causing controversy.
The clip – said to have been filmed at the All Saints Secondary School – shows a teacher, who is also apparently the boy’s uncle, physically disciplining him in front of classmates.
But the child’s mother apparently gave permission to her brother to discipline the boy in front of the classroom.
The incident is said to have been recorded by another student.
The teacher is heard telling the young boy that he is tired of talking to him while he grabs him by the back of the neck and pushes his head against a wall.
The teacher goes on to tell the child that he asked him a question and that he should answer, as he continues to brace him against the wall.
The boy, seen crying in the video, responds by pointing in a particular direction and saying that “everyone is pounding in here”.
“Who was pounding, who was pounding?” the teacher questions before the 21-second video ends.
After the video was posted to social media, a woman identifying herself as the boy’s mother said in the comments that she had given her brother permission to discipline her son. She said the child was wrong for being disrespectful to his uncle in front of the class.
While some are in favour of that sort of discipline, others are concerned about the psychological effect on the victim and the rest of the students. One young girl can be seen in the video averting her eyes from the scene in front of her with a look of distress on her face.
The Ministry of Education says it is investigating the matter and Director of Education Clare Browne told Observer it will be dealt with appropriately.
