Bucharest, February 8th, 2016. Today, the European Centre for the Rights of Children with Disabilities (CEDCD) filed a complaint at the National Council for Combating Discrimination against the humiliating and degrading treatment endured by a 14 year old boy, attending 5th grade at “Ion Creangă” Secondary School no. 13 in Botoșani, and by his parents.
Andrei is a 14-year-old pupil with Down Syndrome, attending 5th grade. According to existing laws, he is certified to attend mass schooling. Although he successfully graduated from primary school, once he started 5th grade, his and his parents’ life became a nightmare. Since September 2015, the geography teacher, who is also a school inspector and mother of one of Andrei’s classmates, started pressuring the parents and the child, so Andrei would be expelled or transferred to a special school.
The teacher/inspector organized the other students’ parents against Andrei, by collecting signatures for his expulsion from school, and intimidated other teachers, by threatening them with inspections, so they would not allow Andrei to pass their classes. She managed to persuade the Romanian language teacher to fail Andrei and has permanently promoted hate-speech against Andrei in class, at parents and teachers’ meetings and in public.
Equally, the geography teacher/inspector refused to collaborate with the support teacher nominated by the Special Commission CJRAE of ISJ Botosani and flatly rejected the adapted curriculum created by the support teacher.
Furthermore, the geography teacher/inspector threatened the parents and adopted a degrading and hostile behavior towards them, after they filed a notice to ISJ Botosani regarding the repeated abuses and discrimination endured by their son in Secondary School no. 13. This fact is extremely serious, representing an aggravated form of discrimination – victimization.
One of the teacher’s favourite expressions referring to Andrei is that “she is disgusted by him”. Moreover, she has chosen to make false statements and spread stereotypes among parents and teachers, promoting the idea that Andrei “must be taken to a special school”, that “his classmates will have to suffer too” or that “he is incapable” etc.
The class teacher and the headmaster have taken a passive stance, fearing the influence of the geography teacher/inspector.
Andrei has been deeply traumatized by the psychological abuses and the hostile and intimidating environment, becoming more and more reserved.
In this case, CEDCD pursued a complaint against the geography teacher/inspector, the allied and/or passive teachers and the parents who offended, humiliated, instigated and demanded Andrei’s exclusion from school.
“The fact that such a discriminatory and abusive attitude, devoid of any professional conduct, still finds its place in Romanian schools is deeply revolting. Beyond the fact that the teacher/inspector’s is discriminating, harassing and humiliating a child, her behavior falls within the scope of criminal-law, due to both incitement to discrimination and abuse of office. We will take all necessary steps, so everyone who has infringed Andrei’s rights will deal with the legal consequences, including those parents who refuse to respect the right to education and dignity of children with disabilities,” stated Madalina Turza, CEDCD President.
Contact person:
Madalina TURZA
Email: madalina.turza@cedcd.ro
Mob: 0737545955
Fax: 021/7952465
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