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Rabat – Rachida Maklouf, a teacher at El Houssein Ben Ali high school in Casablanca, was gruesomely attacked with knife by her 17-years-old student upon leaving the institution Wednesday evening. The incident is the third reported act of violence perpetrated by a student against their teacher this November.
A week after the release of a shocking video showing a student violently beating one of his teachers during a class in Ouarzazate, it was Maklouf’s turn to bear the brunt of this wave of violence.
In a video shared on social media, the teacher recounts the details of her attack, barely holding her tears while she clutches her blood tainted blouse: “In my 15 years of practice, I’ve never had any problem with any of my students.”
It all started last month, when the student in question attacked another teacher. The school board then decided to transfer him to another institution, a decision that was not to the liking of his parents, who verbally berated Maklouf even though she was not directly involved in the matter.
“I didn’t think much of it, even when another pupil came to warn me that he [the attacker] was planning to attack me with a knife Tuesday evening, I simply brushed it off as the shenanigans of teenagers and carried on with my work,” Maklouf recounts.
Alas, the next day, the warning would run true. “I was leaving the school Wednesday at 6pm, when I suddenly felt a sharp hit on my shoulder. When I turned around, something sharp flew across my face. I didn’t know what it was exactly, I just held my jaw as blood poured down my blouse.”
Maklouf is unable to hold her tears as she shows her blood-stained white blouse to the camera. “I chose this profession because I love it, it is a noble mission. We want to educate our students, provide them with the best education we can, but now, we are simply afraid of them,” says the teacher.
“The wound on my face will eventually heal, but the one in my heart, I don’t know how I’ll be able to overcome this trauma,” she adds, wiping her eyes.
The 17-year-old was eventually arrested the same evening, according to the General Direction of National Security. The student was placed under police control for the purposes of the investigation conducted by the judicial police, under the supervision of the competent prosecutor, to determine the details of this criminal act.
On social media, the incident is blowing up a storm. While many have deplored the increase of violence against teachers, some believe that “the teacher only got she deserves.”
