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Viral incident involving ITE student occurred in 2016, teacher counselled: Principal

A screenshot of a viral video on Facebook showing an altercation between an ITE teacher and a student. (Photo: Screengrab of Facebook video)
A screenshot of a viral video on Facebook showing an altercation between an ITE teacher and a student. (Photo: Screengrab of Facebook video)

A viral video showing a teacher roughly handling an ITE student has surfaced on social media although the incident happened a year ago.

According to the principal of ITE College West, this is an “isolated incident” and the teacher in question has since been counselled and has undergone training in student management.

The viral video was posted on the “Must Be Singapore” Facebook page on 21 February this year. It is captioned “Teacher manhandles mentally challenged student in ITE College West” and was purportedly taken by “an unhappy classmate”, according to the post. The video has garnered over 240,000 views and over 4,600 shares to date.

In the video, a teacher is seen arguing with a student and grabbing the student by his neck and arm.

In response to queries from Yahoo Singapore, ITE College West principal Goh Mong Song said, “The incident happened one year ago. The student captured in the video had just joined the college then, had disruptive behavioural issues, and refused to put aside his personal laptop to do a project during practical lessons.

“While this was an isolated incident, the training associate’s reaction was inappropriate. He regretted his action, had been counselled and had undergone training in student management,” a statement from Goh said.

Goh said classmates verified that the training associate, who was helping a lecturer with practical lessons, was trying to contain the student’s behaviour so that lessons would not be disrupted. He added that current and past students had commended the teacher for his commitment and patience, and the student’s classmates were encouraged to understand and support the student.

Goh added, “The student’s parents are aware of the son’s behaviour and are appreciative that the college and counsellors are helping him to cope better. We are glad that after one year, both the student and his classmates have adjusted better and learnt to be more understanding and accepting of his condition.”