Parents accuse teacher of abuse, want probe

EIGHT parents yesterday aired their grievances against a male public school teacher whom they accused of abusive behavior in Medellin town, north Cebu.

They told school authorities in Cebu City that that the Grade V teacher in Curva Elementary School had been collecting funds without authorization from the Department of Education (DepEd), borrowing money from students and physically hurting them.

He also rarely showed up in class, they claimed in their petition that was signed by more than 100 parents.

Cebu Daily News tried to reach the teacher by phone for his side but was unable to contact him.

“Our legal consultant will talk to the parents regarding their complaints and also with the teacher to know his side,” said Dr. Arden Monisit, schools division superintendent.

A visit by DepEd officials to Medellin is scheduled today.

Virgilia Sumalinog, one of the eight parents, said the teacher didn’t return the P15 collected from each Grade V student during the nutrition month celebration last school year.

The money was supposed to be spent for a cooking demonstration class.

“He said he would just return the money that was collected but until now he never returned any single centavo,” the 50-year-old Sumalinog said.

Dr. Monisit said the DepEd has a Maintenance Operating Expenses (MOE) for school activities.

“Teachers are not allowed to raise funds. Payments can only be made voluntarily,” he added.

Another parent, 50-year-old Lenita Inaclito, complained that her 10-year-old son was hit by the teacher with a bamboo stick two years ago.

“He accused my son of ruining the paint on some furniture,” she said. Inaclito said her son sustained bruises in his back.

Another parent, Celsa Masucol, said her daughter is no longer interested to attend classes because of the teacher.

Parents said the public school teacher holds class three times a week and allows students to sleep during class hours.

The parents wanted him transferred but Monisit said DepEd would have to investigate first and wait for the results of the inquiry.