School head punched by irate father

A school head was punched and kicked repeatedly by a young pupil's father who also attacked two other staff members before being reined in by a policeman yesterday morning.

According to the Malta Union of Teachers the incident happened at the Zabbar A primary school at 8.30 a.m. when the assistant head was routinely lining kindergarten pupils to file into class.

The mother of one of the students asked if her child could go in early in order to use the toilet, a request which irked another parent who insisted on an explanation. The assistant head patiently explained what was happening but there was no convincing the father who vented his frustration by attacking the assistant head, the union said.

The man became uncontrollably violent when the caretaker and the school head intervened. The head went inside the school to get help but the father followed him in, repeatedly kicking and punching him, and swearing obscenities in front of the young students, the MUT said.

Luckily, the parents who witnessed the incident alerted the policeman directing traffic near the school and, with some effort, the situation was finally brought under control, and the "violent" man was escorted to the police station.

The police said last night the man would be arraigned this morning. MUT president John Bencini, who strongly condemned the attack, said the school head required medical attention and was visibly shocked by this unexpected incident.

This is the third similar incident involving physical assault within a spate of two weeks: a school head was assaulted by a 13-year-old student two weeks ago; there was another unreported incident of a lecturer who was attacked in a higher institution; while last week an assistant head had his car badly scratched by a student, he said.

Despite being abroad, Education Minister Louis Galea took the necessary steps, the union said. In a statement it issued, the ministry said senior officials rushed to the school and the necessary legal steps were taken.

The ministry insisted that any violent behaviour was unacceptable and it would continue taking steps to ensure that schools were a serene place of learning.

Mr Bencini asked whether the laws were strong enough to serve as a deterrent and pointed out that "99.9 per cent" the father in question would be outside the school gates on Monday morning.

"This same man has threatened the assistant head and told him that he hadn't seen the last of him (insibek barra). These people need some form of protection," he said.

Mr Bencini said the latest attack was sparked by a banal situation, and the MUT was calling on the authorities to introduce security officers at troublesome schools.

"The union has been asking and pleading for the employment of security officers since 1996. Two years ago the government asked us to compile a list of the schools that are most at risk. We submitted the list but no concrete steps have been taken since," he said.

Mr Bencini was speaking at a press conference called as a follow-up to the MUT's recent seminar on Unacceptable Pupil Behaviour: The Way Forward.

In the aftermath of the seminar the union felt it was crucial that a committee, made up of representatives from all interested parties, had to be set up immediately.

"We want parents, teachers and the Faculty of Education, among others, to form part of this committee so that we can draw up a timeframe for action," Mr Bencini insisted.

The seminar was deemed a success and everybody had been constructive about finding a solution to the worrying upward trend of unacceptable pupil behaviour. "I have to make it clear that we are speaking of a minority of unruly students. The vast majority are respectful and well behaved," he said.

It was established during the seminar that the problem of unacceptable behaviour in a student had to be tackled the second it started manifesting itself.

The schools also had to be the first to tackle the problem, but they required support, while teachers going through a trauma had to be provided with immediate occupational and psychological support.

"We need to get together to battle this problem before it gets out of hand," Mr Bencini said.