Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The Education Affairs terminated the contract of an English language teacher after he brutally assaulted one of his pupils. Jeddah Education Affairs Director Abdullah Al-Thaqafi said on Tuesday the father of the victim had reported to the directorate that his son, who studies at a private middle school, was brutally assaulted by his English language teacher. "The directorate formed an investigation committee and terminated the contract of the teacher, who is an Arab expatriate. The directorate then issued a decision to completely ban physical punishment in any shape or form in all private and public schools," said Al-Thaqafi. The father of the victim, Al-Muasim Rawas, said his son goes to a private school in Al-Naeem district. "Last Thursday, my son asked the English language teacher, who was covering as a substitute teacher, very politely if he would let them go out to play soccer. The teacher asked my son to stand up and walked up to him to punch his face with no legitimate reason," said the father. He said that his son wears glasses and the rim of the glasses bruised his son's skin. "My son had a big gash underneath his eyes. Doctors had to put in 12 stitches. The teacher realized how much he assaulted him and asked my son to stay quiet about it claiming he was just joking," said the father. The teacher called the pupil's father to say that his son was bleeding because he hit him jokingly and that he took him to the hospital. "I rushed into the hospital. The hospital did not do anything to his wound and I had to take him to another hospital," said the father. He also said he reported the incident to the police and they asked for a medical report to document the incident. "I did not receive any call from the police and I have also reported the incident to the Jeddah Education Affairs Directorate. I was immediately reassured that the directorate will handle the incident. The school did not contact me or check up on my son though he had been studying at the school since the primary grade level," said the father. The father said that his son is now terrified of going back to school and has to undergo therapy.
