Cairo Teacher Assaulted By Parents After Exam

04/07/2025

CAIRO, July 3: The Egyptian Teachers Union, led by Khalaf Al-Zanati, who also serves as president of the Arab Teachers Union, stated that it is closely monitoring a viral video circulating on social media. The footage shows a group of parents verbally assaulting and attempting to attack a female teacher supervising high school exams at an examination center in Cairo.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the incident occurred on Sunday at the Al-Naam Preparatory School, under the Ain Shams Education Administration in the Cairo Education Directorate. The altercation took place at approximately 1:15 p.m., over an hour after the foreign language exam had concluded.

According to the report, several parents attempted to enter the examination center, accusing invigilators of collecting exam papers before the official end time. The situation escalated as some parents verbally abused a teacher and filmed the encounter, later sharing the video across various social media platforms.

Examination officials promptly contacted the police, who arrived at the scene within minutes. Both parties were summoned for questioning. Authorities determined that the parents' claims were unfounded. Officials confirmed that the exam papers had been distributed ten minutes before the scheduled start, and answer sheets were collected exactly at the designated time, under Ministry of Education guidelines.

Despite the ordeal, the assaulted teacher (who is also a mother) chose to waive her legal rights in light of the emotional and psychological stress parents endure during the high-stakes exam period. A reconciliation was reached, and the parents issued a formal apology. No official police report was filed.

Following the incident, Khalaf Al-Zanati assigned Sayed Adam, Treasurer of the General Syndicate of Teaching Professions and Head of the East Cairo Branch, along with Mohamed Imam, branch treasurer, to contact the teacher, check on her well-being, and thank her for her professionalism and composure.

Al-Zanati emphasized the need to reinforce security measures at exam centers and called for enhanced protection for teachers supervising exams.