'School employee locks up student to discipline him'

Sharjah - The Sharjah Education Zone is investigating the incident based on directives by the Ministry of Education.

The employee of a private school in Sharjah allegedly locked up a grade 4 student in the school's stationery shop for over 10 minutes as a disciplinary measure, the boy's mother has claimed.
The Sharjah Education Zone is investigating the incident based on directives by the Ministry of Education.
The boy's mother claimed that her son went to the stationery shop with some other students. The employee, who is in charge of the stationary shop, reportedly asked the students to go back to class after they purchased some items. When the boy did not, the employee locked him up. The mother said the boy cried and begged the employee to let him go, but he did not. She said her son is "too terrified to go back to school".
According to the mother, the store is located some distance away from the school's office and classrooms.
An official from the school management told Khaleej Times that the employee in question has been working in the school for over 30 years and treats the students as his own children.
The official said the boy and his classmates purchased the stationary items they needed from the store, after which the employee asked them to return to their class. All of the students except the complainant left. The boy did not leave even when the employee threatened to lock him up. The employee locked the boy up for "under a minute", said the official.
"The employee didn't mean harm the student, his intention was to make the boy respect school policy," said the official.
Acknowledging that locking up students is wrong, the official said the employee has been warned to not repeat it.
A Sharjah Education Zone official said a committee has been formed to investigate the incident. afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah