Two students involved in an altercation with a teacher in a high school in Montpellier, at the beginning of April, will be summoned before a disciplinary council while the teacher will be reminded of his professional obligations, the rectorate announced on Wednesday April 22. Videos without context circulated on social networks showing an adult approaching a student with a phone who pushes him away. The adult slaps him before being attacked in return and knocked to the ground by several students.
The measures taken follow a “flash” administrative investigation carried out by the academic director of national education services (Dasen) of Hérault after this altercation which occurred on April 10 at the Jules-Guesde high school in Montpellier. The investigation report “made it possible to conclude that there was a first altercation, prior to that seen on the video widely distributed via social networks and in the media”, specifies the rectorate of the Montpellier academy, in a press release.
This first altercation “occurs after a reminder of the rules by the teacher to students sitting in the corridor and wearing headphones, contrary to the provisions of the establishment’s internal regulations”.
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Brutal fight
Taken advantage of by a student present in the corridor at the time of the incident, the teacher asked for the identity of the student who did not give it to him. The teacher then takes out his phone to take a photo in order to identify him, leading to a dispute from the student and one of his classmates, according to the results of the administrative investigation.
The teacher is then the subject of a brutal grab and finds himself pinned to the wall by one of the two students. He tries to take a photo again while the second student snatches his phone and the teacher responds with a slap. The latter is pinned to the ground, receiving blows from the high school students. “The two students and the teacher all said they regretted their actions,” said the rectorate.
Based on the report’s recommendations, the director of Dasen de l’Hérault, Aymeric Meiss, decided to summon the two students involved in the altercation to a disciplinary council. The teacher will be reminded of his professional obligations as well as an obligation to undergo professional training in conflict management.
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“Additional measures intended to improve the school climate” will be put in place after the April holidays, says Mr. Meiss. The report of the administrative investigation will be sent to the Montpellier public prosecutor who has opened an investigation.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
