The Ministry of Education yesterday issued an apology and pledged to re-examine the case of a teacher accused of bullying students at National Taiwan University of Sport.
Taiwan People’s Party caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) held a news conference with a former student, surnamed Wu (吳), a victim of alleged bullying that occurred before Wu graduated from the school this year.
The teacher, a department head surnamed Hung (洪), was accused of verbal abuse, as well as violent and threatening actions that included sticking a knife into a desk and kicking down a door.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
“Over the years, many victims transferred schools or withdrew from the sports club,” Huang said, referring to the teacher’s alleged threatening behavior in sports-related classes and groups he was responsible for.
Department of Student Affairs and Special Education head Wu Lin-hui (吳林輝) apologized to the recent graduate and acknowledged the harm caused by the teacher’s alleged bullying.
The official admitted the case was first reported in May, but the ministry did not formally reply to the complainant until October.
“The students interviewed during the investigation clearly believed that there was impropriety, but the conclusion was that this did not meet the criteria for bullying,” he said.
Wu Lin-hui said he now believes the teacher’s “emotional management” and “way of leading the students” was “extremely inappropriate” and “constitute violations of the Teachers’ Act (教師法).”
The official did not say if the teacher was still working at the school.
He vowed to re-examine the original investigation report and “ask the school to convene a faculty evaluation meeting” to handle the case.
Wu Lin-hui’s stated determination to address alleged bullying echoed other official statements made over the past few weeks.
The recent spate of bullying investigations began with the high-profile dismissal on Nov. 20 of a Ministry of Labor official implicated in the suicide of a civil servant in October.
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