Probe launched into elementary school teacher over hitting child

ADANA

Turkish authorities on Oct. 19 launched an investigation into an elementary school teacher in the southern province of Adana over hitting a first-grader for not being able to write the letter “D” on the board.

The teacher, identified only as Hacı A., was detained and referred to a court after giving testimony.

The incident was uncovered when the child, identified only as Salih G., attending the Şakirpaşa Elementary School in the province’s Seyhan district, told his parents, “The teacher called me up to the chalkboard, he told me to write the letter, when I couldn’t, he beat me. I was hurt.”

The boy’s father, Mehmet G., filed a complaint against the teacher. An Adana prosecutor then launched an investigation into the suspect on charges of “deliberately injuring a child.”

In addition, the national education directorate in Seyhan launched an administrative inquiry into the teacher, suspending him temporarily until the inquiry is concluded.

The teacher’s physical assault on the child was recorded by a parent who was coincidentally in the classroom to help their own child get used to the school environment.

In the video, the teacher is seen showing Salih how to write the letter “D” on the chalkboard and then asks the boy to do it on his own. When the little boy cannot write the letter, the teacher takes his hand to write it together. But when the child cannot write it again, Hacı A. gets angry and is seen slapping him twice on the back of his neck and shouting at him.