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Dubai school admits to corporal punishment

The mother, though vindicated by this apology she feels was long over due, is just starting to wage a battle with the school, based in Al Qusais.

The mother of a four-year-old boy, who for months had been troubled by the suspicion that her child was being harassed and verbally abused in a school in Dubai, finally obtained a written apology from her son’s school principal as well as the class teacher.

The letter of apology from the principal bears the school insignia and is signed by him. Khaleej Times accessed this letter that merely states: “We sincerely regret the incident that occurred in class.”

The class teacher’s letter says: “My sincere apologies for using inappropriate language in the class while I was trying to discipline the students ... I did not mean to verbally abuse the children ... intentionally.”

The mother, though vindicated by this apology she feels was long over due, is just starting to wage a battle with the school, based in Al Qusais.

“My son ... (would) ... come home and cling ... to me and cry ... When I asked him what’s wrong ... he would take a ruler and hit himself and say ‘teacher hit’, ‘teacher hit’.”

Khaleej Times called up the school but the principal was unavailable to comment. We were told: “The principal is busy as board exams are on.”

The mother cited multiple instances of her son’s fear of his teacher; they are so many that the boy has stopped going to school.

A month ago, the boy was going for a friend’s birthday party and the mother was wrapping a gift for the birthday child. The moment the child saw a cello tape, he took it and started stretching the tape over his mouth and crying saying, ‘teacher put’.

Multiple such instances led her to approach the school. The mother said: “If my son is not safe in school, how can I send him there?”

She has approached the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children as well as a lawyer.

Khaleej Times will withhold the name of the school and the class teacher concerned till we have a reaction from them.

Legally speaking, are schools entitled to use corporal punishment? No, according to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), which comes under the Dubai Government. The answer is clear: ‘No. The UAE law does not permit corporal punishment of any kind’. — nivriti@khaleejtimes.com