Pupils from a communal school in Ramilies were punished during a change of scenery class. A sanction which created a controversy in the east of Walloon Brabant. According to our colleagues from L’Avenir, the children of 3rd and 4th primary were considered “turbulent”, and they were put outside by -7 degrees while they were in pajamas and slippers.
According to the testimonies collected by L’Avenir, the students were sanctioned on December 13 in Landenne, during a three-day expatriation class. Children and parents said that a dozen of them were punished by a teacher who considered the pupils to be “turbulent”. Parents said that “the reason is that the children were talking during the meal. As soon as one of them opened his mouth, a cross was ticked… The number of crosses corresponded to the number of laps he would then have to run, outside, around the building !”
Angry, some parents took the decision to file a complaint while others would like to get a reaction from the school management. “It’s non-assistance to anyone in danger”, said parents to our colleagues.
Jean-Jacques Mathy, the mayor of Ramillies, was advised of the facts. He believes that clarifications still need to be brought to him: “The director general and the director of the municipal school had a meeting with the teachers who supervised the expatriation class. (…) During the discussion, a teacher confirmed that with hindsight, the sanction n was not adapted even if the children had been quite turbulent following a day spent outside, in the cold, and with certain pupils who did not always have clothes adapted to these climatic conditions. We take things seriously” , he assured.
