A PE teacher has been sacked after she physically abused an eight-year-old pupil during her lesson. (Getty Images/File …
A Physical Education (PE) teacher from a top primary school in the north has been sacked after she tackled a pupil during her lesson last Thursday.
The female coach, a Chinese national, chased after a Primary 2 boy after he walked out of her volleyball class, reported The New Paper.
She was said to have wrestled him to the ground in the school's hall after grabbing him by his hair — all in full view of the rest of the class of eight-year-olds.
While the school declined to give details of the incident, it has acknowledged the matter and has conducted an investigation.
The school principal would say only that the coach "admitted to pulling the pupil's hair".
According to local media sources, the coach also nudged the pupil's head with her hand and tapped him on the foot.
A parent, who did not wish to be named, said her daughter's class had been going through a PE lesson on volleyball when the incident happened.
The victim of abuse allegedly walked out of the class as he found it "boring and repetitive", she said. The parent added that the enraged coach then allegedly slapped and kicked the pupil.
But the boy managed to free himself from the coach's grip and ran off to hide in a nearby toilet.
Another parent, a businessman in his 40s who also declined to be named, said his son, who witnessed the incident was badly affected by the violence.
"My son said he told the teacher to stop, but she didn't. He was so affected that he cried," said the father.
A third mother said her daughter was now "afraid" to attend PE lessons.
According to counselors, such reactions from children who witnessed the fracas are understandable.
Addressing the issue, the principal sent an online note entitled "Care and Well-Being are Fundamental" to parents on Monday.
In the note, the principal reassured parents that "the school leaders have met up with the coach and the teachers concerned to establish the facts of the case" and that "the school will take the necessary actions against any staff member and coach who resorts to corporal punishment during school lessons".
The principal added that the school has counseled the child concerned and will continue to work closely with his form teacher and parent to ensure his well-being.
"We want to assure all parents that your child's well-being is my key concern… and that we take a serious view of any corporal punishment in school" he wrote.
However, another parent, a businessman in his 40s who wanted to be known only as Tan, felt there must have been more to the incident.
While he disapproved of what the teacher did, he said that it must have taken "two hands to clap".
"I don't think the teacher would have lost her temper and laid hands on the boy if he has not made her angry in the first place," he said.
Adding that his son has been in the same class as the boy since Primary 1, Tan also claimed that there have been parents who have complained to the school about the boy's behaviour.
His claims, however, could not be verified. Attempts to contact the boy's parents were unsuccessful while the school did not comment on the child's behaviour.
