Abuse in Polish schools on the rise

From: NPE
Teachers abusing Polish school kids around the country is growing say new statistics.

According to the newspaper Metro, there has been an increase in the number of complaints made by students who claim that teachers using abusive language, skipping classes and turning up to work drunk is becoming more and more commonplace.

But it’s not only psychological abuse that is on the rise. The number of reported cases of physical abuse in the classroom has also increased says the paper.

During this year alone in the eastern city of Lublin, six teachers have been reprimanded as a result of using corporal punishment as a means of disciplining children.

In 2007, a disciplinary commission in Lublin received 13 calls to begin procedures against teachers - this year the total figure was three times that amount. Other cities have also witnessed the number of cases grow - Krakow’s individual cases have risen from 20 to 36 in the last two years.

In accordance with Polish law, teachers who abuse their powers can be punished in either one of three ways:

“There are three possibilities: reprimand with a warning, dismissal from work, and - most severe - expulsion from the profession,” explains Alexander Smith, from the Board of Education in Krakow, citing the Teachers’ Charter.

Last year in Krakow, 10 were reprimanded, three made redundant and one forbidden from teaching again.