A teacher was arrested with a firearm inside the school premises due to an argument with a 14-year-old student over a balloon, who after the incident filed a lawsuit together with his father.

In more detail, according to irafina.gr, on Monday 12/16 at noon, a 51 year old professor after an episode he had with a student in the school classroom in Markopoulos.

More specifically, the 51-year-old had an argument with a 14-year-old student because of a balloon the minor had in the classroom.

The professor at his attempt to burst the balloon with the penwounded the student in the palm of the right hand.

The student along with his father went to the police station on Tuesday morning and filed a complaint.

The professor was arrested but a little later he was released with a verbal order from the Prosecutor.

“The arrest was made at the 2nd Gymnasium of Artemis in front of hundreds of students and teachers, after a non-existent complaint by a minor student about an incident that happened the previous day at the 2nd Gymnasium of Markopoulos in the context of the pedagogical function“, as stated in an announcement by ELME.

The OLME announcement

The OLME speaks of a “serious incident” against a colleague, which “undermines the educational process and creates conditions for the discrediting of teachers and their work”, at the same time denouncing “in the most categorical way” the arrest of a teacher inside the school premises.

In particular, according to OLME, yesterday a deputy teacher was arrested in a school unit in Eastern Attica, with the automatic procedure, following a complaint by a minor student about an incident that happened the previous day in another school unit in the area.

According to OLME, “without any prior investigation of the facts”, the police officers arrested the teacher during school hours. “The arrest took place at a school unit in East Attica in front of hundreds of students and teachers“, states the relevant announcement of OLME and it is pointed out that “the long stay of the police on the school site created a serious disturbance in the educational community with the students experiencing an increased feeling of disturbance, danger and fear and the teachers feeling defenseless against any complaint».

“This arrest is an expression of absolute opposition to human dignity but also to the pedagogical integrity of the teacher, who in front of the eyes of his students left his workplace accompanied by police forces, without fully understanding the reason and who suffered many hours of suffering until he was finally released“, the statement added.

OLME speaks of an “unprecedented phenomenon” and declares that “the teacher-student relationship mainly concerns the educational community and there is no legal basis for the police to intervene in this process».

Finally, OLME emphasizes: “we will stand firm against threats, violent and offensive behavior towards colleagues and especially when they aim to violate our dignity».

The announcement of the board of directors of EELME Eastern Attica

On Monday 17/12/2024, another incident of an attack against a colleague was added, among the many in the last period, which torpedo the entire educational process and create conditions for discrediting teachers and their work.

We denounce in the most categorical way the arrest of the deputy teacher AM with the automatic procedure, who was taken to AT Markopoulos.

The arrest was made at the 2nd Gymnasium of Artemis in front of hundreds of students and teachers, after a non-existent complaint by a minor student about an incident that happened the previous day at the 2nd Gymnasium of Markopoulos in the context of the pedagogical function.

After the student’s non-existent complaint and without any prior investigation of the facts, a DIAS team invaded the school premises during working hours and arrested the “criminal” teacher! The long stay of the police on the school grounds created a serious disturbance in the educational community with the students experiencing an increased sense of danger and fear and the teachers feeling defenseless against any unsubstantiated complaint.

ELME immediately declared a work stoppage and called for a gathering of colleagues outside the police station to protest en masse and demand the immediate release of the colleague.

From the first moment, the teachers of the two schools stood by the colleague’s side, with their stay outside the AT Markopoulou, supporting the colleague for the many hours of suffering and anguish he experienced.

This arrest violates the human dignity and pedagogical integrity of the teacher, who in front of the eyes of his students left his workplace accompanied by police forces, without fully understanding the reason and who suffered many hours of suffering until he was finally released.

We have the unprecedented phenomenon of the police intervening after accusations have been made in matters that are purely related to the operation and boundaries of the school and manipulations by teachers being treated as a criminal offense.

The hand for these attacks is armed by the government, the Ministry of Education and the administration because they encourage such practices that target the pedagogical and internal life of the school, by promoting anonymous and named complaints, by operating complaint platforms. All governments maintain class sizes of 25-27 students, leave schools unfortified without the necessary teaching, scientific staff and welfare structures, depriving us of the scientific tools and weapons to deal with serious pedagogical and social issues that arise.

And at the same time they target and carry the burdens of their own anti-education policy, public school underfunding and privatization on teachers.

We declare in the most categorical way in every direction, that the teachers with effort and endurance struggle every day to keep the public school standing against the anti-people policies of the governments and we will not tolerate bullying behavior and attacks on our colleagues.

Colleagues trying to fulfill their role under adverse conditions when in many cases they move to more than two schools on poverty wages.

We also state that the teacher-student relationship concerns the educational community and the police have no business interfering in this process.

We teachers fight to cultivate the school of all-round education, culture, respect, solidarity, democratic values. On this basis, teachers, students and parents are natural allies and with the weapon of solidarity and common action we are required to fight for the defense of the public school, against logic of personal confrontations between parents, students and teachers. The logic of these arguments disorient and obscure the responsibilities of the Ministry of Finance.

The Board of Directors of the 5th ELME of Eastern Attica declare that we will stand firmly against threats, violent and insulting behavior towards colleagues and especially when they aim to violate our dignity. We will stand by every colleague and every school that faces similar problems.

We call on the ELME / OLME, the SEPE / IOE, the teachers’ associations, the unions, the parents’ associations and the 15 members of the students, to highlight and condemn the arrest of the colleague and any such phenomenon and to create a real shield of trade union and legal coverage of every school unit and every colleague, in a defense front of the modern, really public and free school, educational and employment rights.