A 12-year-old student was reportedly expelled from Collège Charles-Lemoyne in Longueuil after he violently knocked down one of his teachers as part of a protest launched by the school several years ago.
The event took place in front of several high school students and was filmed, Paul Arcand reported on Tuesday morning in his program “Puisqu'il peut se leva” on 98.5 FM.
The challenge to hire a teacher has been ongoing for several years and is being carried out as part of a college fundraiser for the Grand Sapin Jeunesse at the Sainte-Justine Hospital.
“It was someone who had the idea […] In our case a few years ago it motivated young people, it was done with humor and it created a relaxed and funny situation with the teacher,” explained the general director of the college, David Bowles, at the microphone of Paul Arcand.
While the principal assured that the challenge always ran smoothly with “very clear” instructions, he acknowledged that this year there was “one case where a student exaggerated.”
Mr Bowles, who was not present at the event, mentioned that he “didn’t see a normal gesture” when viewing the filmed images.
The head of the institution did not want to go into details but stated that the teacher had been injured but had not filed a police report.
When asked by the host about the student's expulsion, the Director General explained that “in order to have serious consequences for us, there must be a serious act of violence that injures a person.”
“There is no excuse for a violent gesture towards a person, especially as a student towards a teacher,” he added during the interview.
The scaling challenge will not recur next year, Mr. Bowles assured.