A schoolteacher in Lahore has been arrested after allegedly beating a 13-year-old class 7 student with a shoe, in an incident that has reopened debate about corporal punishment in schools — and about a chief minister’s social media remarks on the case.
According to reports, the student suffered facial bruising after the teacher allegedly struck him repeatedly with a shoe. The alleged assault followed the theft of a box of toffees from the school canteen, reports said. Police arrested the teacher, and the incident drew attention on social media, where a photograph of the arrest circulated widely.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz shared the arrest photograph on social media platform X on 23 October with the comment: “Beat him black and blue across his face with a shoe. Shame.” Several users criticised the wording, reading it as an instruction to beat the teacher.
On Saturday, 24 October, the chief minister clarified that she had written the comment herself and that it was not posted by an account administrator. She explained that her words were meant to describe what the teacher had allegedly done to the child — that he had beaten the child black and blue, hitting him with a shoe across his face — and added: “I hope you get it now.”
The chief minister has repeatedly said that women and children are her red line and that crimes against them will not be tolerated. That stance has put her at the centre of several recent cases involving children, where her public reactions have themselves become part of the story.
The case has also raised wider questions about how schools handle discipline, whether school rules on physical punishment are properly enforced, and whether teachers receive enough training to manage students’ behaviour without resorting to violence. Children’s safety in schools has been under particular scrutiny in recent weeks, after separate incidents put the physical wellbeing of pupils in the spotlight.
The allegations against the teacher have not yet been tested in court, and the investigation will determine how the case proceeds. What is not in dispute is the concern the incident has stirred: that a dispute over a box of toffees from a canteen should never end with a child being hurt.
The story was also shared as a video on Nishandahi Media’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/reel/2668000210337298
One Response