Cases of teacher harassment of students at the Carmela Dutra Institute of Education are being investigated by the Rio State Department of Education. The facts would have occurred in February and reported by the students of the institution, who train future teachers.
The State Secretary of Education, Alexandre Valle, was on Tuesday night (8) at the institute, in the neighborhood of Madureira, north of the city, to speak personally with the school’s management. Before, he was at the 29th Police Station, which also investigates the cases.
“The State of Rio de Janeiro does not condone any irregular act, especially with those who have an obligation to educate. The school immediately took steps to remove the teachers. A women’s commission was created to monitor this. Students who feel harassed can speak in this group so that we can take all the necessary actions”, said the secretary.
According to Valle, there are no reports that there were other cases at the school, although several students interviewed by the report said they had heard similar stories in the past.
“We will severely punish any such case. We will not tolerate. The second case, which was reported to me, is that there was a murmur about the teacher, and that they immediately asked for his removal, until all the facts were ascertained. The two teachers were removed as soon as the direction became aware of it”, explained the secretary.
The students interviewed by the report were dissatisfied and even insecure about the reports of harassment by teachers against colleagues. Most are between 15 and 18 years old and have a place of protection at school, a feeling that ends up broken when the perpetrators of harassment are precisely the teachers.
“I was very sorry. This is a school. So I didn’t expect. Because the least we have to have is respect. No matter how short we are. As a woman, I was very sad. It touched me a lot. It didn’t happen to me, but to someone close to me,” said one of the 15-year-old students.
Another student, aged 16, said that at school, she should feel more protected. “This messes with us, because we don’t know if something is going to happen. At school it shouldn’t be like that, we should feel more protected. We already suffer on the street, suffering inside the school is very difficult. It messes with our confidence.”
A third student, aged 16, considered that this type of behavior is not acceptable.
“I think this is a lack of respect, because this already happens when we are on the street. And when we come to school, we want protection, so that this doesn’t happen. Teachers are there to teach, not to harass,” he protested.
Another student, who took one of the victims, who is her friend, to the principal to report it, said that the students will look at the teacher and will not have confidence. “He will be looking at me with different eyes, as if I were an object. People think that because of our clothes and what we wear, we have the right to be harassed. Do not. Harassment is everywhere. But at school, it’s a place that shouldn’t occur. He kept stroking her hand and she didn’t feel good about it,” she reported.
The names of the teachers and the authors of the complaints, as well as their families, are being kept confidential by the police and the State Department of Education. The names of the students interviewed were preserved to avoid embarrassment. The inquiry commission set up to investigate the cases must decide by April 10, after hearing those involved. At the administrative level, teachers may even be fired.
