Six weeks ago, a teacher at Lycée classique de Diekirch (LCD) was suspended for harassing students and sending inappropriate messages. The school administration has now reacted to the situation in a statement.

Since the suspension, the teacher in question has not been allowed to work in the school. The teacher is accused of sending inappropriate messages to pupils, some of whom are minors or were underage at the time the messages were sent. A number of the school's students and former students have since come out and stated that the teacher's problematic behaviour was "an open secret" among them.

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A few days ago, the headmaster of the school, Marcel Kramer, reacted in an internal message to the school community of Lycée classique de Diekirch. The letter was made available to our colleagues at RTL.lu.

The management condemns all forms of harassment. Students and parents can contact the class teacher, the School Psycho-Social and Support Service (SePAS), or the school administration at any time. They can also contact the student committee and the parents' association.

In February 2020, the headmaster was informed by a student that she had received inappropriate messages from a teacher, who was not one of her teachers, writes Kramer. He points out in his letter that until then he was not aware of any similar accusations. After verification, the teacher in question received a written warning the same day. The pupil was reportedly not harassed afterwards.

In mid-March 2021, further accusations against the same teacher appeared in a private Instagram group chat. The school administration reportedly immediately appealed to the Government Commissioner for Discipline. Kramer further explains that he has been on sick leave since 10 March, following a back operation. According to information obtained by RTL, he will remain off work until 10 May.

The director of the LCD regrets that pupils were harassed and says that it is very important to react in order to prevent such a situation from happening again. This is why it was decided to set up a task force with the aim of providing the LCD with an appropriate strategy to deal with this situation. The school community is invited to send their remarks and complaints to the school administration.

Upon enquiry, the school administration stressed that they had not tried to hide anything but had immediately tried to react.

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