Violent teachers leave psychological scars, says health specialist

She warns of the untold damage done to children and calls for the abuse to stop

Children in mainland schools are being psychologically damaged by teachers who use violence and humiliation to maintain order, a mental health specialist has warned.

The caution follows a series of classroom incidents that have been widely publicised. A number of children have been badly injured, and in one case killed. There have also been many reports of children committing suicide after being humiliated by their teacher.

Liang Yuezhu, mental health department director of the Beijing Health Bureau, said that violence in the classroom must stop immediately. 'Even if the physical or mental punishment is not extreme, it can negatively affect the children for their entire lives,' she said.

In northwestern Gansu province last week, a nine-year-old girl had two-thirds of her ear ripped off by her teacher when she failed to hand in her homework on time. The teacher apologised and no further action has been taken.

The teacher of seven-year-old Zhao Zhongping was not so lucky. Li Jun, a teacher in Judan county in Yunnan, lost his temper when the boy made a mistake during a maths class. He shoved Zhongping, causing him to accidentally stab himself with a pencil in the right eye as he lurched forward.

The boy died the next day and the teacher was sentenced to two years in jail last week.