THESSALONIKI – Students at a vocational training school in Greece’s second-largest city staged a sit-in Jan. 29, demanding no criminal charges be brought against a pupil who threatened a teacher because she was going to mark him absent for being late.

The verbal assault was shown across Greek TV after being captured on a cellphone video that showed the student going wild and near-violent as he screamed in the teacher’s face, with unruly students a common problem in Greece.

The incident took place in January, 2019 at a school in Kordelio, northeast of the city center, resulting in the student receiving only a one-day suspension although the verbal attack implied a threat against the teacher’s life.
SKAI TV said that the students protesting the possibility of legal action being taken against the teenager said he has anger management issues and isn’t responsible for his behavior or inability not to act out.

The sit-in came after New Democracy Education Minister Niki Kerameus said that the “required measures” will be taken in response to the incident shown on the video without indicating whether the student would be prosecuted.
But the Regional Governor of Central Macedonia responsible for education, Alexandros Koptsis said no criminal charges would be brought because the student’s one-day suspension was enough and in accordance with the school’s rules.