Makkah educational authorities are investigating a brutal attack on a student that was captured on video and widely circulated on social networking sites.

The clip, which provoked public outrage, shows the teacher brutally assaulting the student with a horsewhip and the student pleading for the teacher to stop.

A fellow student recorded the scene on his cellphone to prove the incident, which occurred at the Barmawi school in Makkah. The school administration sacked the teacher the following day.

The school principal said his administration took the decision without referring the matter to the regional education department in the region, but that a committee had nonetheless been formed and sent to visit the school.