Teachers Resort to Abuse of Students

This fateful event did not deter Abbas Kazem, who teaches at Madhatiya school in the city of Hamza, Babil, from telling Al-Monitor that he supports “terrorizing students in the [classroom], provided that they are not beaten with a cane, as this could lead to physical harm.”

He justified his viewpoint by saying, “Loosening the grip on students will only push them to slacken in their studies and disrespect their family and teachers.”

Academic and instructor Mohsen Ali Atiyeh, who has worked at schools in Babil for more than three decades, placed the video showing students being beaten in a wider cultural context.

“These scenes reflect the prevalence of violence in the behavior of the Iraqis. Violence has become the easiest and most effective way for them to solve problems. Violence varies, as it can be verbal or physical. Beating is either done by hand, cane or weapons of all sorts. People are murdered, corpses are abused and armed tribal conflicts have become commonplace in the country,” Atiyeh said.

He added, “Violence in education proves that the state’s role in maintaining discipline and order is nonexistent. With the absence of this role, groups and individuals have started to feel that force alone is the way to resolve conflicts.”

Atiyeh pointed out that the repeated violent incidents in Iraqi schools “depict backward educational methods and failure to train instructors based on the principles of modern education.”

(Arab school girl image via Shutterstock)