JEDDAH, 19 November 2006 — Child abuse, violence and aggressive behavior are unacceptable against any person let alone a child in his school. Innocent children get to cope with these behaviors as associations of their everyday life. Teachers tend to convey to the children that violence and torture are “great means of communication”. And, therefore, we still see sticks, rods, and wooden rulers in many schools.

Though the Education Ministry has its strict rules regarding the practice of violence in schools, it seems that some teachers haven’t gotten the message. Local newspapers have recently discussed the issue of corporal punishment.

The first story is of an 11-year-old primary school student. The child appeared in a videotape, opening his tiny hands for a teacher who is seen hitting him aggressively with an electrical cable. In the two-minute video, the teacher continually hits the child while the child pleads for mercy. The teacher, unsatisfied with beating the child’s hands, moves to other parts of the body giving the kid a hard time. While the child tries to escape, he is further beaten up. Finally, the terrified child manages to open the door to flee with the teacher in pursuit.

Despite the serious nature of the case, education officials did nothing. Instead, they limited their reactions to criticism and restating the ministry’s rules regarding violence in schools.

“The ministry does not accept any psychological or physical abuse of students,” said Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Midairis, the director of education in the Eastern Province. He added that the authorities are concerned about the case.

“Rules regarding violence at school are clear; no hitting is allowed in schools. The relation between teachers and students must be built on respect, affection, good manners, and based on Islamic principles,” said Al-Midairis.

A citizen has lodged a complaint with the general manager of the Department of Education in Qasim against a teacher who beat up his eight-year-old child. The teacher hit the child on his head causing him serious injuries and a deep wound; the child then was transferred to a clinic where he received stitches.

Twelve-year-old Mustafa Malees was beaten up by the principal of his school. When the father took his child to hospital, the medical report proved that the bruises resulted from abuse by school officials.

It seems that no week can pass without hearing of similar cases, especially from boys’ schools. Last week, a math teacher hit a student on his face causing an injury in his jaw and teeth. Another was beaten on his back in another school.

The violence can go in the opposite direction as well. Recently, a high school student was expelled from school after beating up his Arabic language teacher using his igal (the Saudi headband).

The igal featured in another story where a teacher hit a student on his face with the band.

Last year, in a school in Dammam a teacher hit his student using an aluminum rod, causing the student severe injuries on his back.

Girls’ schools are not immune to violence. A school principal forced seven girls to stand for the whole day while beating them, because they were absent the previous day. A primary school teacher in Jeddah hit a second-grade student with her bag, injuring the girl in the eye.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has declared a prohibition on any kind of abuse in schools, either physical, mental, or psychological. Ali ibn Nasir of the Ministry of Education urged teachers and principals to set good examples for students. He emphasized the need for training teachers and supervisors so that they can develop skills of making positive communications with their students.

The ministry has put alternatives to violence as a means of punishment. Such alternatives include taking off some grade points, suspension, expulsion, or even reporting the teacher to the police.