"I grabbed him by the shoulder": Near Novosibirsk, parents defended a teacher who was fired after a conflict with a first-grader.

In the Novosibirsk region, the district administration has taken an interest in the dismissal of a teacher following a conflict with a first grader. Recall that the scandal in the rural school occurred in January 2025. After an internal investigation, the teacher was dismissed, and she turned to the prosecutor's office to prove her innocence. Moreover, during its own investigation, the district administration found violations. More details can be found in the article by KP-Novosibirsk.

“SCARED THE CHILD WITH A CHILDREN'S HOME”

28-year-old Ekaterina Petrova* from the Toguchin district worked at a rural school for 6 years. She is a primary school teacher. In 2024, she was assigned first graders, and in November, they introduced a 9-year-old boy named Misha* to the class. The boy had to repeat the year due to poor academic performance.

According to the parents of the students, the child did not make friends in class. He was constantly fighting and even hit a classmate on the head. The mother of one of the injured children reported the incidents to the police, but there was no change in Misha's behavior.

At the end of January, the conflict between the boy and his classmates escalated.

- A girl classmate ran away from Misha into the changing room, and he caught up with her and hit her on the head. The girl ran out of the changing room, and he followed her. When the boy was running out, I grabbed him by the shoulder to prevent him from running any further. This moment was captured on the surveillance camera, - the dismissed teacher Ekaterina Petrova told KP-Novosibirsk earlier.

However, the boy's mother had a different version:

- She was grabbing him by the shoulder and by the sleeve, pulling him back and forth. My son told me about this when we were discussing the situation at home regarding him hitting the girl. The teacher even scared him with a children's home! - the boy's mother recounted to KP-Novosibirsk earlier.

Misha's mother filed a complaint at the school and contacted the police. The principal assembled a commission, and the teacher was dismissed for “Single application of educational methods associated with physical and psychological violence against the personality of the student.”

However, the footage from the school surveillance camera, which was made available to KP-Novosibirsk, shows the situation a bit differently. The video shows a girl approaching the teacher near the changing room and saying something. Afterward, she runs off to get dressed, while the teacher stands in the school corridor waiting. When the boy, who had offended the classmate, approached the changing room, the teacher grabbed his jacket, shook him slightly, and said something. The boy remained standing nearby while the teacher helped other children get dressed.

“THEY POINTED OUT THE SHORTCOMINGS TO THE PRINCIPAL”

Parents came to the teacher's defense and are asking for her reinstatement: they wrote a letter to the head of the administration. Former colleagues of Ekaterina also stood up for her and reached out to the district head.

- We request the reinstatement of the primary school teacher and the director’s advisor, as we believe she was dismissed in violation of the provisions “On conducting a service investigation.” The teacher had no prior disciplinary actions against her, and she repeatedly approached the principal requesting measures be taken regarding this child, - stated in the collective appeal.

In the end, the administration gathered its own commission, and specialists found several violations:

- The teacher was not given the opportunity to challenge the members of the commission. The shortcomings identified during the investigation were pointed out to the principal, - clarified the administration.

As Ekaterina explained, by law, she should have been informed about the composition of the commission conducting the service investigation.

- If I had seen the lists, I could have requested the exclusion of one of the participants. I have a long-standing conflict with one of the teachers who was on the committee, and I could have asked the principal to replace her with someone else, - Ekaterina told KP-Novosibirsk.

After the commission, the teacher contacted the prosecutor’s office: she is awaiting a decision from law enforcement.

*Name changed.