SHARJAH // A teacher who is alleged to have beaten a 10-year-old child at a primary school has been suspended pending an investigation. The girl's father complained to the Sharjah Educational Zone after she received injuries on her hands and shoulders that he said had been inflicted by an Arabic language teacher at the Attika Primary School.
He said his daughter had been severely beaten and he had to take her to hospital for treatment. He was using hospital documents as evidence of the teacher's mistreatment. "Corporal punishments are illegal in this country," he said. "I can't comprehend that this act was tolerated by the school administrators." Ahmad Saleem al Matroushi, a senior official from the Sharjah Education Zone, confirmed that the complaint had been received and the teacher had been suspended until the case is investigated and resolved. Corporal punishment in state schools was outlawed in 1998, and Mr al Matroushi said teachers who engaged in it would be disciplined.
Dr Atef Saleh, a psychiatrist at the Rashid Hospital in Dubai, said: "We have to understand that childhood is a very volatile and sensitive period. "Whatever we do in this period will affect the future of the child through his adult life. We have to understand that corporal punishment will have a deep impact on his personality." Dr Saleh added that because teachers were role models for children, physical punishment in the classroom encouraged children to use violence as a solution to their problems.
Nadine Block, executive director of the Centre for Effective Discipline, an American not-for-profit organisation opposed to the practice, said corporal punishment was harmful for a variety of reasons. "It's easy to cross over the line and cause an injury, particularly when adults use panels and sticks to hit children," Ms Block said. "It's also harmful psychologically because it teaches kids that people who are bigger can hurt you and it's a way to solve problems."
Ms Block, a former school psychologist, added that the practice was not effective educationally and could lead to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder and other problems, such as bedwetting. Robert Murra, a professor of clinical paediatrics at Ohio State University and chairman of the Council on School Health at the American Academy for Paediatrics, agreed with Ms Block. "It's not the most effective therapy and it does have negative consequences," Dr Murray said, adding that the practice could lead to serious self-esteem problems.
ykakande@thenational.ae klewis@thenational.ae
