Teacher Transferred After Beating Grade 5 Student Over Unfinished Homework
A Kalasin teacher has been transferred after beating a fifth-grade student with a bamboo stick and feather duster over unfinished homework, leaving the boy with severe bruises and unable to sleep on his back.
Officials from Kalasin Province District 2 have intervened in a case involving a fifth-grade student who was beaten by a teacher, suffering bruises and swelling on his back. The boy's mother says the punishment was excessive, and she is pursuing the matter to its conclusion. The District 2 Education Office has ordered the teacher to be transferred out of the area.
On September 5, 2024, social media users posted images and accounts of a student from Yang Talat District in Kalasin who was struck by a teacher until his back was bruised and swollen. The incident occurred because the boy had not submitted homework. The beating left the child unable to sleep on his back and able only to sleep on his side. After the post spread on social media, it generated extensive sharing and criticism, with many questioning whether such severe punishment was justified.
At 1 p.m. on September 5, Phalakorn Pimphanit, a member of parliament from Kalasin District 2 representing the Pheu Thai Party, coordinated with Chatchawal Ararat, the director of the Kalasin District 2 Education Office, Bunsong Anasa, the school principal, Wirasak Kodtarak, the subdistrict administrator of Don Sombun, Yang Talat Subdistrict police, and officials from the Department of Social Development and Human Security in Kalasin Province to visit the student's home in Moo 10, Don Sombun Subdistrict, Yang Talat District to offer encouragement and assistance.
Ms. A (pseudonym), 41, the mother of the fifth-grade boy, recounted that the incident occurred on September 1. When her son returned from school and took a bath, he complained of back pain. She lifted his shirt and found bruises and swelling. Upon questioning, she learned that a teacher had beaten him during a vocational training class. The teacher had assigned work to be completed by the end of the period. When checking the work, the teacher found that her son and several classmates had not finished. The teacher then struck the boy six times with a bamboo stick and a feather duster on the back, causing bruising and swelling so severe the child could only sleep on his side.
Ms. A stated that she believed the teacher's punishment was excessively harsh. She also discovered that many other students had been beaten similarly. After the incident, multiple parents visited the school principal requesting that the teacher be transferred out of the area, as children were afraid to attend school. Parents have also filed police complaints to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Phalakorn Pimphanit, the member of parliament, said that today he coordinated with relevant agencies to assist the student and reassure parents regarding both the legal proceedings and action against the teacher. The director of the District 2 Education Office will issue a transfer order moving the teacher out of the area by Monday to give parents and the child peace of mind. Police will proceed fairly according to evidence. The provincial Department of Social Development and Human Security has provided a psychologist to assist. Phalakorn added that Deputy Prime Minister Yotchasnonn Wongsawat and Education Minister Prayuth Channocha, along with Social Development and Human Security Minister Nikom Somklang, have expressed concern and instructed him to personally investigate and follow up on the matter, asking for progress reports. Schools must be safe places for children with no tolerance for violence.
