Ministry moves to curb abuse in schools

Eight-year-old Mohammed Ali from Baghdad refused to go back to school this year because he says he was abused and insulted by his teachers. “They hit me and called me bad names because I was a troublemaker and didn’t work very hard,” Ali tearfully recounted. He added angrily, “So I told my father I wouldn’t go back to school.” While Ali’s father, Mohsen, has since found another school for his third-grade son, he fears more of the same. “I moved him to another school to protect him from abuse,” he said. “But if the problem persists, I don’t know what to do.” Corporal punishment has existed in the Iraqi educational system for decades, with unruly students traditionally punished by a sharp crack of a ruler across the palm of the hand. Otherwise, though, teachers are not permitted to hit or verbally insult students. However, as Iraq entered an era marked by economic sanctions and war in the 1980s and 1990s, reports of abuse by teachers increased, government officials say. According to educational supervisor Ebtisam Mahmoud, at the Ministry of Education, Iraq’s dismal political situation served to poison the atmosphere in the whole country, making both teachers and students more antagonistic. Kareem al-Waali, a director of general education at the ministry, said the phenomenon was acknowledged and officially condemned. “The education ministry rejects such behaviour,” he said. Al-Waali explained that, in theory, administrative punishments were doled out to teachers responsible. “Supervisors from the ministry register cases of abuse and advise teachers on how to prevent it,” he said. A new dynamic According to one education ministry official, abuse of pupils is generally the result of bad student behaviour coupled with authoritarian teaching methods. Others, however, suggest that recent legal changes have subtly altered the student-teacher dynamic, thus contributing to the trend. “Students during the Saddam Hussein era used to bribe their teachers in order to succeed in their exams,” 40-year-old primary school teacher Yasmeen Mahmood said. She added that as laws against bribing teachers had recently come into effect, “the teacher no longer has that leverage as a means of controlling the student”. Child psychologists note that ongoing violence in Iraq further contributes to the problem. “Teachers and children are under the daily threat of violence,” said Luma Ali, of Baghdad University. “Explosions, assassinations and kidnappings all affect children’s behaviour in one way or another.” Teachers, meanwhile, defend themselves by saying that maintaining control of unruly classrooms is half the battle. “I can’t teach without hitting or shouting,” said Nada Saleem, a 33-year-old primary school teacher in Baghdad. “Most of the students don’t pay attention to me. They either fight or play, so I have to occasionally hit some of them to get their attention.” Parents remain concerned 12-year-old Zaid A'adel said he was abused by his teachers in both primary and secondary school. “They always hit me on the face and pinched my ears for any reason,” he said. “And sometimes I was forced to stand on one leg for the entire lesson.” A'adel added: “Hitting became the dominant form of language for many teachers, and many children hated going to school because of this.” Abuse in schools widespread in Middle East A UNICEF conference held in Cairo in June declared that verbal abuse by teachers was rife in many Arab countries. According to UNICEF figures, 73 percent of children in the Arab world are subject to some form of abuse in schools, while an estimated 40 percent experience physical punishments. Iraqi education ministry officials declined to reveal precise figures for the numbers of reported cases, but admitted that some 80 percent of Iraqi schools had experienced the problem. “The ministry is very concerned about the trend, which has become common,” said Abd al-Kader Mohammed, an educational supervisor at the education ministry. He noted that parents often protested in cases where students were allegedly abused by their teachers. Mohammed added: “We punished five teachers this year, while other cases were resolved at the school by apologies by the teacher to the child and his parents.” Despite efforts to punish those responsible and prevent future abuses, however, many parents remain concerned. “I moved my children to a private school to protect them,” 35-year-old mother from Baghdad, Tamra Tarek, said. “The punishment for hitting a child should be dismissal,” she maintained.