FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The teacher who reportedly verbally abused a Grade 5 student on the first day of classes will be subjected to administrative proceedings, the Department of Education (DepEd) said Wednesday.
In a viral post last Monday, a netizen, who claims to be an aunt of the student, shared that the learner received insults from the teacher during the first day of school.
Based on the post, the teacher allegedly called the student “bruha” (witch) and “bobo” (stupid).
DepEd spokesman Michael Poa said officials of the DepEd’s School Division Office met with the student’s parents on Tuesday, and assured them that the agency has a “zero-tolerance policy” against abuse.
The disciplinary action to be taken against the teacher were also explained to the parents.
“The teacher will be subjected to administrative proceedings in accordance with our rules. The DepEd takes these incidents very seriously,” Poa told reporters in a Viber message.
Meanwhile, the student received psychological first aid, he added.
“Psychological first aid was immediately given to the learner by trained personnel from the school health section. Psychosocial status of the learner will be monitored,” Poa said.
Aside from the meeting, the head of the school was also directed to submit an incident report and a child protection policy intake sheet to the DepEd’s regional director within 72 hours of the incident, Poa added.
The netizen, Jeannie Vargas said the Grade 5 student went home from school crying because of the incident.
“Paano mong nasasabi mga gantong bagay sa isang 10-year old sa pinakaunang araw ng pasukan nila? Kung hindi po masaya sa pagiging guro sa mga bata, hanap na lang po ng ibang career. Wag nyong idamay mga estudyante na sumusubok pa lang lumaban sa buhay,” she wrote.
(How could you say such things to a 10-year-old on the first day of classes? If being a teacher is not something you want to do, you should find another profession. Don’t drag down students who are just learning how to fight in their lives.)
“Hindi po dahil bata o dahil nasa public school, pwede nyo ng ibully ng ganyan,” she added.
(It doesn’t mean that if the student comes from a public school, they can be bullied.)
According to the post, the teacher allegedly whispered the word “bobo” (stupid) to the student.