Saudi Gazette report DAMMAM – A Saudi teacher was seriously injured in an attack by a student and his friends at a Dammam school on Monday. Salman Al-Juma, a teacher of Arabic language at the secondary school, was attacked by the student after he disciplined him, Al-Hayat Arabic daily reported. Al-Juma, who sustained serious head injuries, was admitted to a Dammam hospital and is still critical. According to Al-Juma's brother Mustafa, a seven-member gang assaulted the victim when he came out of the school gate on his way home. “While Salman was taking class in the last school hour of the day, one of the students asked his permission to leave the class. “Though Salman told him to remain in class until the class had finished, the student refused to budge and walked out of the classroom.” The student was told to return to class after the deputy head intervened.The student then reportedly told Al-Juma: “I will teach you a lesson.” Mustafa said a gang of seven, including the student and his friends from outside the school, attacked the teacher with sticks when he came out of the school's main gate. The attackers beat him until he fell unconscious, according to Mustafa.Salman's colleagues took him immediately to a nearby hospital. The teacher, who sustained deep head wounds, underwent surgery at the hospital. Salman, who hails from Al-Ahsa, traveled 240 kilometers to and from work. Dammam Police registered a case against the attackers following a complaint filed by Mustafa. An investigation into the incident has been opened, according to Khaled Al-Hammad, spokesman for the Education Department in the Eastern Province. Abdurahman Al-Mudairis, director general of the department, visited the victim at the hospital. There has been a rise in assault cases against teachers throughout the Kingdom. A teacher was stabbed to death by his student in Dayer, Bani Malik in the southern Jazan region during the current academic year. Muhammad Bakar Barnawi died after trying to intervene in a fight between a student and an outsider who were fighting at the school. A few days ago, a teacher was badly beaten up by a student at an intermediate school in Baha.
