The Ministry of Education and Science of Tajikistan (MoES) has addressed an incident involving the assault of a schoolteacher in Kuhistoni Mastchoh district of Sughd province, linking it to personal animosity between the parties involved and emphasizing that the incident was unrelated to the educational process.  This case marks at least the fifth assault on teachers in the country over the past six months.  Such incidents have raised public concern, although authorities insist they are managing the situation.

Beaten without cause

A video circulated on social media showing a man assaulting a young teacher in a classroom.  The description stated that the victim was a teacher at School No. 22 in Khudgifi Oftob village, Kuhistoni Mastchoh district, who was "dragged into the teacher’s room and beaten by a student's parents without cause."  The video’s author also claimed that his phone was broken and that he filed a complaint with the district’s police station, but alleged that authorities "took no action and even threatened him."  He called on the relevant agencies to pay attention to the case and take action.

The video quickly spread on social media, sparking outrage; however, by the morning of October 29, the video and accompanying comments had been removed, including from the "Akhbor Baroi Afkor" group on Facebook.

Assault stemming from personal conflict

The ministry of education clarified the incident to Asia-Plus, noting that it occurred on October 18 at School No. 22 in Khudgifi Oftob village.  According to the ministry, Islam Agholikov entered the school on that day and started a dispute with the Russian language teacher, Behrouz Jumazoda, who is his fellow villager and relative.  “This conflict arose due to personal animosity and is unrelated to the educational process,” the ministry stated.

The ministry added that the young teacher is a third-year correspondence student at Khujand State University and has been working at the school since September 30 of this year.  Ministry representatives commented that, being inexperienced, the teacher "associated this incident with his teaching duties and exaggerated the story when he posted it on social media."  The district's education department expressed concern over the young teacher's actions, as he only approached the police and did not report the incident to other district authorities before sharing the story on social media.

The issue is reportedly under the supervision of the Minister of Education and Science, with a working group investigating the matter in coordination with relevant authorities, in line with legal standards.  "The ministry condemns any actions that undermine the honor, dignity, and status of teachers in society," the statement emphasized.  

However, the teacher's own perspective on the ministry’s comments remains unknown, as attempts to contact him were unsuccessful.

Ove the past six months, this is the fifth instance of teacher assaults reported across various regions in Tajikistan. In October, a female teacher in Vahdat was beaten by a student’s mother, and three previous cases involved assaults by students or young men in the city of Bokhtar and Khovaling district in Khatlon province.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has opened criminal cases in two of these incidents, while the Ministry of Education reiterated that “the honor and dignity of teachers are protected by the state.”