Teacher slaps student in Nghe An, apologizes and promises not to repeat the offense

The teacher promised not to repeat the offense.

On February 23, teacher Nguyen Chinh Binh - (38 years old), said that in recent days he has been trying to get used to the new environment after being transferred to Chau Quang Secondary School, Quy Hop. Teacher Binh is a teacher who has just been disciplined for slapping a student while working at Quy Hop Town Secondary School, causing a stir in public opinion in recent days.

“In my 15-year career in education, the recent incident was extremely regrettable. If I could go back in time, I would do things differently. What happened recently has left me with many things,” Mr. Binh shared with Nghe An Newspaper reporters.

Mr. Binh shared with Nghe An Newspaper reporter: Photo: Tien Hung

This chemistry teacher said that after the recent incident, he will change many things. “In the way I approach my students, I have been too enthusiastic, my enthusiasm is only to wish for their progress. The incident that happened is due to an unreasonable approach,” said Mr. Binh.

When asked about the act of slapping the student, Mr. Binh affirmed that it was just an impulsive act and a regrettable thing. “I would like to apologize to the industry and the government. As a teacher, working to educate students, everyone only wishes the best for the children. But in the moment that regrettable incident happened, I apologize to the school, students, and industry leaders and promise to never repeat the offense, and to try to contribute the best to the new unit,” Mr. Binh said.

Teacher Binh said that it was a pity that the incident happened. Photo: My Ha

Meanwhile, Mr. Ngo Duc Son - Principal of Quy Hop Town Secondary School said that through the recent incident, as the principal of the school, he himself felt that he also had a part of the responsibility. "Especially the work of education, ideology, and political ethics for teachers to let this unfortunate incident happen. However, in life, each person has their own personality, as a manager, we cannot monitor everything. The incident has been concluded and disciplinary action has been taken. I also hope that public opinion understands the pressure that teachers have to bear. I hope public opinion sympathizes so that everything in the school can return to normal", Principal Son expressed.

Severe punishment if repeated

Mr. Ho Binh Minh - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Quy Hop district said that after receiving the complaint from the parents, the leaders of the district and the department were very concerned and handled it thoroughly. The steps and levels of handling that the school gave were very strict, in line with reality, and educational in nature. It was done very publicly. Mr. Binh himself was also aware of his actions, accepted the form of discipline, and accepted the transfer to another school.

“When he was transferred to a new unit, we also assigned the principal there to care for and encourage him. But on the contrary, we also monitored him, and if he did something similar, we would advise the district to handle it more strictly. This is an undesirable incident. We also hope that the press and public opinion will give him a chance. So that he can continue to contribute to the education sector,” said Mr. Minh, adding that Mr. Binh is a person with professional competence.

Previously, the complaint letter sent to the school by Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh (parent of Nguyen Quang Hung, student of class 9A3, Quy Hop town secondary school) on January 4 stated that at noon on December 31, 2020, she discovered a finger mark on her son's face. After much questioning, he said that Mr. Nguyen Chinh Binh, his chemistry teacher, had hit him in the face. A few days later, he became panicked, complained of dizziness, refused to eat, and wanted to drop out of school. The family encouraged him to go to class, but he was still afraid and did not dare to go to school.

Regarding this incident, Ms. Linh said that the teacher's use of force to beat students during class "violated children's rights and civil rights, and violated professional ethics". At the same time, she requested the school to strictly handle the violations of teacher Nguyen Chinh Binh so that "the family can work in peace" and the child can go to school as soon as possible.

Along with sending a petition to the school board, the student's family also sent a petition to the Quy Hop District Police. Speaking to a reporter from Nghe An Newspaper, Major Ngo Anh Tuan - Head of the Quy Hop District Police said that after receiving the complaint, the unit immediately took action. However, through a health assessment, it was found that the child's health was normal, there were no signs of injury on the body, and no sequelae. The disability rate was 0%. In addition, the MRI results on January 6 also showed that the child's health was normal, there were no signs of injury, and no sequelae. Therefore, the investigation agency concluded that there was no criminal element in the incident, so the case was not prosecuted.

Quy Hop Town Secondary School. Photo: Tien Hung

To resolve the petition of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh, the Board of Directors of Quy Hop Town Secondary School established a team to verify the content of the complaint. At the same time, they sought opinions from relevant individuals.

On January 16, Quy Hop Town Secondary School announced the conclusion of the accusation. Specifically, through verification with the homeroom teacher of class 9A3 and some students in the class, it was confirmed that the story of student Nguyen Quang Hung and the students in the class was true. After the incident, Mr. Binh also promptly visited the student's family to ask about his health, encourage his spirit and send money to the school leadership to support the cost of a medical examination in Vinh city.

Principal Ngo Duc Son. Photo: My Ha

The Disciplinary Council of Quy Hop Town Secondary School then met and disciplined Mr. Nguyen Chinh Binh with a warning. After that, the People's Committee of Quy Hop District decided to transfer Mr. Nguyen Chinh Binh from Quy Hop Town Secondary School to Chau Quang Secondary School (Chau Quang Commune, Quy Hop District) because he slapped a student during class.

Regarding this incident, Mr. Nguyen Trong Hoan - Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training said: Immediately after the incident occurred, the Department of Education and Training grasped the situation and directed the Department of Education and Training to inspect, verify the incident and handle it in accordance with regulations.

“This is also a rare incident, violating the rules of conduct in schools and especially violating the regulations on teachers' ethics. Through this incident, we also hope that schools and teachers need to consider this a lesson to learn from experience and have appropriate behaviors in the process of organizing teaching and learning.

For effective teaching, we also hope that parents and families need to cooperate with the school in managing their children and reminding students to do their homework, avoiding unfortunate incidents from happening," said Mr. Hoan.

StillProfessor Thai Van Thanh - Director of Department of Education and Trainingaffirmed that the disciplinary process of the People's Committee of Quy Hop district was appropriate for the violation of teacher Nguyen Chinh Binh and the Department's viewpoint is that it is necessary to handle it strictly to deter the whole industry. The Director of the Department also affirmed that although he has transferred to a new school, the Department will continue to direct the Department of Education and Training of Quy Hop district to continue monitoring the progress of teacher Binh. In case of recidivism, the industry will consider transferring him to a position other than teaching and if serious, disciplinary action may be taken to force him to quit his job.