The rector of the Paris academy announced the suspension since Tuesday, September 10, of a teacher from the Frères-Voisins nursery school. This comes after she was filmed assaulting a three-year-old student after the start of the school year.
Bernard Beignier, rector of the Paris academy, provides “full support” to the parents and the three-year-old child, who was assaulted in a school in Paris last week. Invited to BFMTV this Tuesday, September 10, the rector assures that “a child should not suffer an act of violence, and especially not in a school.”
Following these events and the publication of the video, the teacher was suspended this Tuesday. “I signed the order (of suspension, editor’s note) this morning at 9 o’clock,” says the rector, specifying that it is “a protective measure” for “the students, the other teachers but also the person who is the subject of it.”
He also announced the establishment of a psychological unit for students, parents of students, but also teachers who wish to benefit from it. “These measures will be put in place today,” assures Bernard Beignier, rector of the Paris academy.
The suspended teacher
A video posted on social media in recent days has caused a strong reaction from Internet users and elected officials. It shows a teacher hitting a child in the back before spraying her with a product. The events took place in a school in the 15th arrondissement of the capital on Wednesday, September 4.
The resigning Minister of National Education, Nicole Belloubet, requested “without delay” on Tuesday the opening of disciplinary proceedings and the “immediate suspension” of the teacher.
“For the moment, this teacher’s file reveals nothing. She has been a teacher for many years, she is a tenured teacher,” said the rector of the Paris academy. The latter is now suspended. “I signed the order this morning at 9am,” confirmed Bernard Beignier.
26 students in the same class on the first day of school
The elected officials met this Tuesday morning at the school in question to discuss with the staff of the establishment. “We had a long meeting with all those who take care of this school, the elected officials as well. We took stock of everything that could have happened, how things went,” explains the rector of the Paris academy.
He confirms that on the first day of school, there were 26 nursery school pupils in the class (editor’s note: two pupils did not show up).
“It is a school that has seen a growth in students, which is not very common in Paris, since it is rather the opposite movement. What everyone will understand is that the month of September is a month of fine-tuning the start of the school year. As of Thursday, the director and the district inspector decided to reduce the size of this class,” the rector continued.
“As of Thursday, a certain number of students were taken out of this class to be placed elsewhere (…) today, there are no longer 28 students. Regardless of what happened, this balance would have been reviewed and corrected,” he believes.
A criminal investigation and an administrative investigation have been launched. The latter could “most certainly lead to a disciplinary board,” says the rector of the Paris academy.
