ATHENS – It’s a rarity in Greece where strong unions protect civil services from harsh discipline but Greece’s Education Ministry fired a male teacher caught on video attacking a female student in the classroom.

He was not identified in keeping with Greek privacy laws but Kathimerini said the ministry accepted a recommendation by a disciplinary committee he should be terminated after the video caught him in the act.

He worked for an Attica vocational school and was let after the Regional Secondary Education Council met and decided to terminate the teacher’s contract citing misconduct, the report also said.

In the video, the teacher in the unidentified school is seen hitting the girl – who is reportedly 16 years old – twice. He slapped her and then pulled her hair before throwing her to the floor and hit her still again.

Her classmates rushed to protect her and attacked the teacher, one of them hitting him with his hands and feet and then trying to use a chair to defend the girl who was beaten but no cause was given for the teacher’s action nor when it happened.