School shut down after pupil allegedly killed by teacher in Cairo

Ahram Online , Sunday 8 Mar 2015

The child, who was taken to hospital on Thursday suffering from brain hemorrhage, died on Sunday

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Egyptian students at school (Photo: Reuters)

Egypt's education minister Moheb El-Rafie ordered the temporary closure of Cairo's Al-Shuhada elementary school after a pupil who was brutally beaten by his teacher there three days ago died on Sunday, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

The suspension is effective until prosecutors conclude their investigations. The decision was taken by the ministry "to preserve other pupils' psychological health," Al-Ahram reported. 

The victim, a fifth-grade student at a public school in the working-class district of Sayeda Zeinab, was transferred to a hospital unconscious on Thursday suffering from brain hemorrhage.

The ministry of education suspended the teacher before remanding him to the prosecution for investigation.

Prosecutors told Aswat Masriya news website they had started interrogating the teacher on charges of using excessive force but after the child’s death the teacher will be facing charges of beating that led to death.

Prosecution ordered an a forensic medicine examination to determine the cause of death, and extended the teacher's detention for four days pending further investigation.

According to some studies, cases of abuse are common in Egypt’s public schools where teachers, who are usually low-paid and receive inadequate supervision.

In 2008, a math teacher in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria killed an elementary school student by kicking him in the chest. The teacher was sentenced to six years in prison for manslaughter.

An amendment to several provisions of the Child Act of 2008 mandated the protection of children “from violent acts and physical and emotional abuse.”

A ministerial decree in 1998 prohibited corporal punishment and physical assault against students in all its forms.

 
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