A LECTURER who slapped a student has received the backing of a teaching union.
The Examiner revealed on Saturday how an experienced lecturer at Kirklees College was suspended in November 2008 after she slapped Omar Abdullah Karimi, now aged 19.
The woman – who was teaching English to the Iranian student – was said to have become angry when he had been unable to follow instructions in class.
The teacher was suspended and returned in March 2009 after undergoing retraining.
Dave Ellis, chief steward of Unison, said he believed the college had done everything by the book.
He said: “Although this very experienced lecturer was a member of the UCU lecturers union, Unison is fully in support of the decision to reinstate her. When incidents like this happen, people go back for retraining, anger management and look again at the protocol of dealing with students.
“This woman was a very experienced lecturer and the retraining she would have needed would be minimal.
“But the college has done the right thing and I firmly believe, 100%, that she should be back working.”
Kirklees College also gave reassurances that all the necessary steps were taken to ensure the safety of students after the incident.
