Parent calls for cameras in school after alleged abuse

Anwar Alawadhi with his son, Mansour. Mr Alawadhi has alleged that his son was beaten at his school and has called for cameras to be installed in classrooms and hallways. Delores Johnson / The NationalShow less

ABU DHABI // The father of a six-year-old autistic boy has called for cameras to be installed in classrooms and hallways at his child’s school after his son returned home from his school last week with bruises on one of his arms.

Anwar Alawadhi has filed a police report against the Abu Dhabi International (PVT) School claiming that his son, Mansour, was whipped on the arm by a teacher.

Mr Alawadhi, an Emirati, said his son came home from school last Thursday with a slight discolouration on his right arm.

“I usually ask my son if school is ‘nice’ and he always says, ‘It’s nice Daddy’. On this particular day he told me ‘school is not nice’.

“I ignored the matter until my wife the next day came to me crying that Mansour had been beaten. The bruise had turned into a bright bluish, purplish colour.”

The family and school officials met on Saturday to discuss the matter. Teachers and staff at the school said they were hurt and outraged by Mr Alawadhi’s claims.

Jihan Nasr, the school superintendent, said the school had a mission to help children with special needs and insisted no teacher or staff member harmed the child.

“I am absolutely positive that no one in our school has hit Mansour. In spite of that I have carried out investigations and questioned all the teachers involved,” she said. “We love and care about each of our students, particularly those with disabilities, and our mission is to love and care for them.

“We have carried this mission for 32 years and one person is not going to jeopardise our reputation in child care,” she said. “Mr Alawadhi’s claims and accusations are invalid and baseless.”

The meeting with officials was not productive, Mr Alawadhi said.

“They made a number of excuses,” he said. “They said Mansour was very violent that day and they sent him to the psychologist so he might have hurt himself on the way. The psychologist told me that she saw the bruises when he came to her and Mansour was crying so hard.

“My son is never violent. They also said that he might have been hurt at home and maybe it was the nanny. Me and my wife are always with our son and he is never left alone with the nanny.”

Mr Alawadhi, who is head of forensics for Abu Dhabi Police, said: “This is my job. I know what it looks like when someone has been hit with a sharp object. The bruises on my son’s arm resemble those of a cane or a sharp, long plastic object.”

A medical report confirmed that there were bruises on the child’s arm.

Mansour enrolled in the school’s progressive mainstreaming programme in January.

He returned to school on Sunday attended by a personal nanny. “I am not going to withdraw my son,” Mr Alawadhi said. “I paid Dh55,000 for my son to be in a safe environment and learn. For him to be beaten at school is something that I will not accept. I want the teacher who did this punished and for justice to take its course.

“Our leadership gives special attention and care to children with special needs. No one will accept what happened. I’ll not rest until I get justice for my son.”

Abu Dhabi International School is one of the first in the emirate to accept and mainstream special-needs children.

This year it has 150 students with disabilities and learning difficulties across all ages. Each student has a tailored “action plan” and is gradually mainstreamed after taking special classes with teachers or attending regular classrooms assisted by shadow teachers.