School deputy head ‘should never have been arrested’

The deputy director of a secondary school in Nieuwegein should never have been arrested for allegedly injuring a child while removing him from a classroom, the public prosecution department said on Wednesday afternoon.


The incident earlier this week led to questions in parliament and generated wide debate about dealing with disruptive pupils. The deputy head had been called to the classroom by another teacher after the teenager refused to leave.
In a statement, the public prosecutor said the teacher had taken hold of the 13-year-old boy by the collar and removed him from the classroom but there is no question of ‘any criminal act’.
Apologised
The local police chief has also apologised to the school and the teacher concerned. ‘We regret that this incident has had such an impact on all concerned,’ a police spokesman said.
The boy’s stepfather made a formal complaint to the police. The teacher was then arrested and held in a cell for three hours before questioning.
The boy at the centre of the row is moving to another school for difficult children, the NRC reported.

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