Hotline for UAE school students [video]

The Ministry of Education is launching a hotline for students to report any behaviour or acts that may threaten their physical and psychological well-being or educational progress, Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, said.

As an effective means of communication with students and their families, the new hotline will be supervised by experts to allow students to contact the ministry officials and report any case that might affect their educational progress or hamper their physical and physiological well-being, the minister noted, adding that the move is also aimed at achieving transparency and building an effective and purposeful communication network that serve education.

The education minister said the hotline will also prevent students from reporting incidents at school in wrong ways.

He stressed the move is part of the ministry's plans to achieve the highest degrees of transparency and stability and ensure smooth operation of education at schools. It will enable the ministry to act promptly on any complaints or reported incidents at schools.

Stressing that mutual respect should be the dominant principle in the relation between teachers and students, the minister said that the ministry takes great interest in effective education based on modern methods that can ensure discipline.

Last week, the education minister said corporal punishment at schools is rejected and that a video of a teacher slapping a student in his classroom that went viral shows an isolated incident.

He added, "The incident in the video which went viral on social media is not representative of the practices and standards of the country's schools and the noble values upheld by Emirati society."

The Ministry of Education suspended the teacher for hitting the student and formed an inquiry committee to investigate the incident.

"All forms of physical punishment are rejected as a tool of discipline at schools. The incident is an isolated one that should not happen again," the education minister said.

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