Kindergarten teacher used chopsticks to beat child, causing thigh bruises

On the afternoon of February 9, Ms. Pham Thi Manh (in Binh Minh urban area, Thanh Hoa city) picked up her granddaughter, Huong (class 3, Thanh Xuan Nam Kindergarten, located in Dong Huong ward) after school.

While bathing her grandchild, Mrs. Manh saw Huong constantly crying out in pain, and her thighs had many bruises.

Huong's thighs were bruised after the teacher hit her with chopsticks. Photo: Nguyen Duong.

Immediately, the family took Huong back to school to meet the principal, asking for clarification of the matter. Upon receiving the report, Thanh Hoa City Police and the city's Department of Education and Training were also present.

Here, the teacher in charge of the class, Ngo Thi Thuy Linh (29 years old), admitted to hitting the child with chopsticks. Ms. Linh said that at nearly 4 p.m., while taking the child to the bathroom, Huong struggled and kicked her in the stomach.

“Since the day he started school, he has been running outside crying every day, so I got angry and hit him 7 times with chopsticks. When I saw him crying loudly, I picked him up and sprayed water on his legs to ease the pain,” Ms. Linh admitted.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Thanh Xuan Nam Kindergarten Nguyen Quoc Cuong apologized to the child's family and accepted responsibility for the incident.

“The teacher’s actions are unacceptable. Regardless of what happened, the family is not expected to, so we ask for your understanding and forgiveness from the school,” said Mr. Cuong.

Ms. Ngo Thi Thuy Linh admitted to using chopsticks to hit the student and made a report about the incident. Photo: Nguyen Duong.

That same evening, the city police asked the relevant parties to report the incident in writing for investigation and clarification.

Ms. Hoang Thi Thao - Principal of Thanh Xuan Nam Kindergarten - said that Ms. Linh is a probationary teacher, having only worked at the school for 1 month and 12 days.

Thanh Xuan Nam Kindergarten of Tratech Company Limited was built with an investment of nearly 40 billion VND, operating since July 2016. The school has 2 3-storey buildings, 15 classrooms, meeting the learning needs of 500 children./.

*The baby's name has been changed.

According to Zing