Egyptian schoolboy dies after teacher beating

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Egyptian students are seen walking in al-Hussein district in Egypt’s capital, Cairo. (File photo)A schoolboy has died in Egypt after being severely beaten by his teacher, the country’s Ministry of Education says.

The 12-year-old pupil died on Sunday “after being beaten by a teacher” on March 5, the ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry said the teacher has been suspended and an “urgent inquiry” was launched into the tragedy.

According to Hisham Abdel Hamid, chief of forensics department, the child died of brain hemorrhage due to severe head injuries.

Horrific history of assault

In 1998, a ministerial decree prohibited corporal punishment and physical assault against students in any form.

However, some studies reveal that corporal punishment is common in Egyptian public schools. The number of child abuse cases has alarmingly risen due to lack of proper supervision.

In late 2014, two children died in accidents blamed on badly maintained equipment.

According to a report by Egypt’s National Council for Childhood and Motherhood in December 2014, assaults on children increased by 55 percent year-on-year. Fifty percent of the mentioned cases of violence against children were registered at schools.

Last September, the director of a Cairo orphanage who sentenced to three years in jail on charges of assaulting minors.

In another case in 2008, a math teacher who killed an elementary school student by kicking him in the chest in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria was sentenced to six years in prison for manslaughter.

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