WHEN PARENTS BECOME AGGRESSORS — TEACHING: A PROFESSION DRAGGED IN THE MUD BY GBENGA ONABAMIRO

The alleged incident at Starville School, Jahi, Abuja, where parents physically assaulted a teacher during a meeting meant for dialogue, is yet another sad reminder of how far the teaching profession has fallen in the eyes of society. The fact is simple: two wrongs do not make a right. A teacher slapping a student is unprofessional and unacceptable. Yet the parents responding with violence—slapping the teacher in return—crossed a line that should never be crossed in any civilized society.

Across the world, teachers are respected as nation-builders, custodians of knowledge, and shapers of future generations. But here, increasingly, teachers are treated as disposable, insulted, attacked, and humiliated at the slightest provocation. This is how professions lose dignity. This is how societies lose their moral compass.

The parents’ action was not a defense of their child; it was a public assault that undermined due process, escalated tension, and created a toxic example for the very children we claim to protect. The matter could have—and should have—been resolved through proper channels: dialogue, disciplinary committees, mediation, or even legal redress. Instead, emotions were allowed to overshadow reason.

By laying hands on the teacher, the parents sent a dangerous message: that violence is an acceptable tool of correction. That educators are punching bags. That teachers can be humiliated at will. This is not just an attack on one teacher—it is an attack on the entire profession.

The teaching profession is already burdened with poor welfare, overcrowded classrooms, and societal disregard. Dragging it further into the mud through public assault does not solve any problem; it only deepens the decay.

We must restore sanity.

We must restore respect.

We must restore the dignity of the classroom.

Accountability is necessary—both for the teacher who acted wrongly and for the parents who crossed the red line of civility. But above all, we must remember: when teachers become targets, the whole society suffers.

Prof Gbenga Onabamiro is a Counselling Psychologist and a Public affairs Analyst.