Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) today apologized for describing an elementary-school teacher as being “unsuitable” for having called the police on a student who struck them.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taichung City Counselor Li Chung (李中) yesterday said that an elementary-school teacher had called the police on a student who hit them with a tee-ball bat, and two officers took the student to a police station.
The teacher called the police despite the child apologizing and acknowledging their mistake, showing they are “unsuitable to be a teacher,” Lu said yesterday.
Photo: Su Chin-feng, Taipei Times
However, the Teachers’ Union of Taichung criticized Lu for “making the conclusion too quickly,” especially since the Teachers’ Act (教師法) sets a clear process to decide whether a teacher is “suitable.”
Lu’s Facebook page also received many comments accusing her of treating the teacher unfairly.
Teaching children is challenging and exhausting, Lu told reporters today, apologizing to the teacher for criticizing them before fully understanding the context of the situation.
This situation shows that teachers and schools lack enough legal knowledge, as the Juvenile Justice Act (少年事件處理法) has clear regulations about the rights of minors, Lu said.
Unless the minor is caught doing an illegal act, it is illegal for the police to take them away without a parent or guardian’s accompaniment, she said.
The Taichung Education Bureau would be asked to establish a standard operating procedure for such situations for schools to refer to, ensuring better compliance with the law in the future, Lu said.
The child may now have emotional trauma and would be provided with counseling, she added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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