Law Against Child Abuse at Schools

To: The Egyptian Ministry of Education

A video film has been circulating for quite a while on electronic and mainstream media about day care children brutally beaten by their nursery teacher and other appalling similar incidents where children have been verbally and physically abused including a case where an elementary school student actually lost his life on account of violence by the teacher. Such incidents, as you may well know, inevitably undermine child self-esteem and self-worth, faith in both the teacher and the educational institution on the whole, and scar a child for life. As such, the undersigned, hereby, demand the following:
- Drafting a law criminalizing all forms of verbal and physical abuse against children in schools, nurseries, day-care centers, and educational and sporting institutions.
- Developing a mechanism whereby a child, parents, and others can lodge a complaint should a child be exposed to abuse.
- Imposing strict penalties on the violator including suspension.
- Establishing a supervisory authority with branches within each educational administration to monitor strict adherence to the law and response to complaints lodged in all Egyptian governorates.