HÀ NỘI — A teacher in Bát Xát District of northern Lào Cai Province has been dismissed following accusations of beating a student twice, inflicting serious injuries, the district disciplinary council announced on Tuesday.

The dismissal is the highest level of administrative punishment, besides a reprimand and warning, Hoàng Đăng Khoa, chairman of the district People’s Committee, said.

On March 25, teacher Trần Thi Thu Trà used a bamboo stick, a ruler, a mobile phone and her own hand to smack the head of a grade-one student named Phàn Chung Thủy at Phìn Ngan Commune’s primary school. The teacher’s reason for the abuse was reportedly that Thủy was writing down the dictated text too slowly, which could have affected the overall class performance.

Fearing the consequences of her actions, Trà applied bear gall to the child’s injuries to relieve the pain, but it made the bruises on her face more conspicuous.

Following this, Trà visited the student’s home to apologise but repeated her misconduct in the classroom some days later.

Nguyễn Thị Thanh Hải, head of the district’s internal affairs department, told the local news website dantri.com.vn that although the teacher had expressed regret, beating a minor twice was too aggressive an action to be ignored.

The student is now in stable condition and has returned to class after being treated at the hospital.

In another report, police of Buôn Hồ Town in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk are investigating the case of a 25-month-old child who sustained a serious injury at a private kindergarten in An Bình Ward.

The baby choked on food and fainted on Monday while in the care of an unlicensed kindergarten owned by Bùi Thị Phương Tâm, 29, Vietnam News Agency reported.

According to Đắk Lắk Province’s General Hospital, the child was in critical condition. Half of his brain had suffered damage in the incident. — VNS