A teacher in Luxembourg City forced a seven-year-old girl to leave a swimming pool barefoot and walk to the bus stop outside because he thought she was taking too long to get ready, reports L'Essentiel.
The Luxembourg daily newspaper said the young schoolgirl was punished for spending too much time in the changing rooms after her swimming class on 24 January, and made to walk barefoot to the bus stop some 50 metres away from the premises, without a coat and with wet hair.
The girl's mother was horrified upon learning of her daughter's punishment and contacted the school administration immediately to demand an explanation. In an email response, the teacher claimed that the seven-year-old had a tendency to dawdle and would not listen to repeated reminders to get dressed. He added that he hoped the punishment would change the girl's behaviour in future, according to the L'Essentiel report.
The Luxembourg Wort newspaper also picked up the story and submitted an inquiry to the Ministry of Education. The Ministry replied that it could confirm the incident had taken place at a primary school in Hollerich, calling it "unacceptable". The incident is likely to have consequences; however, the authorities declined to provide further details on these.
