A citizen
requested the Human Rights Defender’s assistance with regard to the issue of
occasional acts of violence by a teacher of physical education towards their
son, a 6th-grade pupil, and the latter’s classmates, in one of the
regional schools.
According
to the citizen’s complaint, the parents have informed the Director of the
school about the teacher’s attitude, and the Director assured that the issue
will be examined and measures will be undertaken. However, no such measure was
undertaken.
Given the
importance of the issue raised in the complaint, the respective representatives
of the Human Rights Defender's Office visited the mentioned school and
discussed the issue with the Director of the school, representative of the Regional
Administration, the class supervisor, the 28 pupils and their parents, as well
as with the teacher of physical education, who had allegedly committed the
violence.
The
parents, present at the discussion, claimed in the presence of the Human Rights
Defender’s representatives that the teacher of physical education occasionally subjected
to violence the children during classes. The respective representatives of the
Human Rights Defender's Office had a private interview with 28 pupils of the 6th
grade, during which the children confirmed the incidents of violence against
them, as well as mentioned about other incidents by the same teacher that the
parents were not informed about. A discussion procedure upon own initiative
started in the Human Rights Defender’s Office based on the information provided
by the 6th-grade pupils and their parents, within which official
letters were sent to the RA Prosecutor General’s Office and the Regional
Administration.
The
Defender requested clarifications from the Regional Administration in connection
with the issue raised. The letter addressed to the RA Prosecutor General’s
Office raised the issue of checking the described circumstances within the RA
Criminal Procedural Code.
As a result
of the discussion, by the order of the Director of the school, a disciplinary
penalty in the form of a reprimand was imposed on the teacher of physical education
for an improper conduct, and the physical education school hours for the 6th
grade were assigned to another teacher in order not to hinder the normal course
of the educational process.
At the same
time, the Governor of the Region instructed the Director of the school to
conduct relevant explanatory works with the staff of the school with the
purpose of ensuring that exclusively pedagogical methods are applied in the
school and strictly securing the normal course of the educational process.
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