Students locking teacher in class ‘act of violence’: education ministry

In a document sent to the People’s Committee of Tuyen Quang Province on Tuesday, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Ngo Thi Minh said the fact that certain 7th graders at the Van Phu middle school in Son Duong District locked a music teacher in the classroom, screamed at her and threw objects at her, was a serious moral violation.

The ministry has requested the northern province’s authorities to verify the incident and strictly deal with violations committed by individuals and groups. The Tuyen Quang Department of Education and Training has also been requested to bolster enforcement of the school code and educate students on morals and lifestyles.

In a two-minute video clip that circulated on social media on Monday, a teacher could be seen locked inside a classroom, as dozens of students forced her into a corner, screaming at her and throwing objects at her.

Similar videos of the same incident continued to show up on Tuesday. In a five-minute clip, a group of students could be heard spewing curse words and stuffing trash into the teacher’s bag. When the teacher walked towards the classroom’s door, the students can be seen throwing shoes and slippers. Another longer video showed the teacher retaliating against the students, swinging her shoes in the air and chasing the students around the classroom.

The Son Duong District People’s Committee said the incident happened at around 10:30 a.m. on November 29. When the music class began, some students requested to go out of the class, but the teacher refused. Conflicts then arose between the teacher and the students. When the class ended and the teacher moved to another class to teach, the students followed her, threw insults at her and uploaded the clips on Facebook.

The education ministry has requested the provincial People’s Committee to report back about the matter before Dec. 29.