Boy fears for safety after teacher beating
The Office of the Private Education Commission (Opec) has ordered an investigation into a teacher at a private school in Nakhon Si Thammarat after a video clip that showed him beating a male student sparked outrage among netizens.
The probe comes after secretly recorded smartphone footage went viral on Thursday. It shows the man repeatedly striking the boy with his knuckle, elbow and foot in front of his classmates.
The footage also left officials at the Ministry of Education reeling as corporal punishment is banned in Thai schools.
“We don’t know what happened between them, but such behaviour towards a student is unacceptable,” Opec’s acting secretary-general Chalum Athatham said.
The teacher has been suspended pending the probe.
The ministry prohibits inhumane or violent punishment at places of learning. Penalties that can be meted out to students include verbal warnings, suspensions and even expulsions if educators have sufficient grounds and the evidence to back it up.
The incident reportedly happened at Anusornp ornsawat School in Muang district. Director Pornsawat Ratanasuwan refused to comment beyond saying the school would not defend the teacher’s actions.
Meanwhile, unsubstantiated and potentially malicious rumours began to spread on social media that the student had sex with the teacher’s daughter, possibly without her consent.
The boy took to social media to refute the allegation as ridiculous, claiming the teacher does not have a daughter.
He later revealed that the recorded beating occurred six months ago when he was in the 8th grade. The student claimed he was being punished by his teacher for not doing his science homework.
“The teacher got angry because I didn’t pay attention in class and sent a blank paper to him when he ordered me to hand in my homework. Students are scared of him because he’s always in a bad mood,” the boy told local media. He said he has been deeply affected by the incident and has stopped going to school out of fear for what the teacher may do next.