A student at Gdh. Atoll School assaulted a teacher after she attempted to stop the student from playing computer games, and the family says the teacher’s nose is broken and requires surgery.

The police began investigating the case of a Grade 8 student assaulting an Indian female teacher last Sunday. Although it was stated then that relevant authorities were looking into the matter, the police did not provide details.

However, 35-year-old Smitha N. Pillai, who is from Alappuzha in Kerala state, recounted the incident to the Indian newspaper "Mathrubhumi."

Smitha, who first arrived in the Maldives last year to teach at the school, said that she repeatedly advised a student who was playing a game on a computer in class that day to stop, but the student did not comply.

She stated that when she recorded the student playing the game on her phone and told him she would submit it to the principal, the student suddenly lost control and first snatched and threw her phone. Smitha explained in the interview that the physical attack followed.

She said the student repeatedly struck her in the face and pulled her hair. According to the Indian newspaper, Smitha’s nose bled and she fainted due to the attack.

Other school staff intervened to restrain the student and took the teacher to the hospital, noting that she sustained serious facial injuries in the incident.

According to the newspaper, quoting Smitha’s husband Deepak, doctors confirmed that her nasal bone was broken.

Deepak also stated that because surgery is required and they believe there are inadequate medical facilities in the Maldives, efforts are being made to transfer her to India for the surgery.

The newspaper quoted Deepak saying that while the police are supposedly investigating, neither the Ministry of Education nor the school management has contacted them. Smitha’s husband also stated that they intend to submit the case to the Indian High Commission in the Maldives.

According to the teacher quoted in the news, the student who gave the attack has been suspended for one week and sent for counseling. Indian teachers working at the school have expressed dissatisfaction regarding the disciplinary action taken against the student.

The Indian newspaper reported that about 15 teachers from Kerala work at that school, and that another student had also threatened a teacher.