PE Teacher Assaults 6th Grade Students: Human Rights Defender

A citizen has sought the support of the Human Rights Defender regarding the issue of a physical education teacher at a school in one of Armenia's provinces committing repeated acts of violence against his son and classmates, who are in the 6th grade.

The Human Rights Defender's office reports that, according to the citizen's complaint, the parents informed the school principal about the teacher's behavior, who assured that he would investigate the matter and take necessary measures; however, no action was taken.

Considering the significance of the issue raised in the complaint, representatives from the Human Rights Defender's office visited the school to discuss the matter with the principal, a representative from the regional governor's office, the 6th-grade homeroom teacher, 28 students from the class, their parents, and the physical education teacher accused of the violence.

All attending parents insisted in the presence of the Defender's representatives that the physical education teacher had repeatedly inflicted violence on the children during physical education classes.

The Defender's representatives conducted private interviews with the 28 students of the 6th grade, during which the children confirmed incidents of violence against them and reported other cases of violence by the teacher that their parents were not aware of.

Due to the information provided by the 6th-grade students and their parents, the Human Rights Defender’s office has initiated discussions on its own initiative, sending letters to the Prosecutor General’s office and the regional governor's office.

The Defender has requested clarifications from the regional governor regarding the raised issue, while also inquiring with the Prosecutor General’s office to investigate the circumstances described in accordance with the Armenian criminal procedure code.

As a result of the discussion, the school principal issued a disciplinary reprimand for the teacher's inappropriate behavior, and to ensure normal class proceedings, the physical education classes for the 6th grade have been assigned to another teacher. Meanwhile, the regional governor has ordered the school principal to conduct appropriate explanatory work with the teaching staff to ensure that only pedagogical methods are used in the school and to strictly uphold the smooth conduct of the educational process.