Corporal Punishment of a Student in Rafsanjan; Parents' Complaint Leads to 'Forensic Medicine' Involvement

Following the corporal punishment of a student by a teacher in one of the schools in Rafsanjan and the parents' complaint, the head of the Rafsanjan Education Department stated that 'this incident occurred under specific circumstances' and 'the student's mistake caused the teacher's distress.' According to the government news agency IRNA, Hossein Shafiei, head of the Rafsanjan Education Department, reported on the investigation of an incident where a teacher, after a verbal altercation with a student, physically punished the student, resulting in injury. Shafiei explained: 'On Tuesday, following a verbal altercation between the teacher and a second-cycle secondary student in one of the schools in Rafsanjan, the teacher punished the student, resulting in an injury to the student's lip.' This local education official, acknowledging the prohibition of corporal punishment, added: 'We have repeatedly emphasized this issue in meetings with managers, and relevant circulars have been sent to schools. However, this incident occurred under specific circumstances that we are currently investigating.' Shafiei mentioned that after the matter was reported to the Education Department, the county's security section took action, but 'the student also admitted in explanations given in my presence that his mistake caused the teacher's distress, leading to this incident.' It is noteworthy that this report does not specify the age of the student or the conditions under which this meeting was held, including whether parents were present and whether the emotional and psychological safety of the child was ensured. The head of the Rafsanjan Education Department further stated that 'the student's parents have announced their intention to file a complaint, and if a claim is made, it must be acted upon according to the forensic medicine report.' He promised to defend the rights of both the teacher and the student according to the law. Despite the prohibition of corporal punishment in Iranian schools, this practice is still applied by many teachers, and occasionally, the release of videos showing severe corporal punishment in schools causes public outrage. In previous instances, education officials have emphasized the prohibition of corporal punishment and promised to take action against offenders. 1500 classrooms lack heating and cooling systems in Sistan and Baluchestan. Students poisoned by gas during a government 'I'tikaf' ceremony in Mashhad. Ministry of Education official: Students' average score of 10 is not 'critical.' Iran's Statistics Center: The number of school dropouts has reached nearly one million.