Children from the Jegălia Fanfare, in Călărași county, who were at a camp, were made by a teacher to kneel on the scorching asphalt, under the strong sun, as punishment after making noise the evening before. The General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection (DGASPC) Călărași has opened an investigation and specifies that the parents of the children refused counseling, as „the minors are not affected.”
Images of the children from the Răsăritului Fanfare in the Jegălia commune kneeling on the scorching asphalt to apologize to the conductor appeared on social media on Monday, as reported by Canal Sud.
"If it happens again, I'll keep you for hours," the conductor angrily tells the children in a video recording.
A second video recording captures the moment when, at the teacher's command, children kneeling apologize in unison.
After the images appeared online, representatives of DGASPC Călărași went to Jegălia on Tuesday to investigate the case. First, they went to the town hall, where they spoke with representatives of the local public authority, where the secretary Radu Nelu and deputy mayor Chiriac Marius expressed their disagreement regarding the instructor teacher's behavior.
Some of the children's parents were also present at the town hall.
"The parents displayed a relaxed attitude, without dramatizing, stating that the images recently appearing online actually date back to about two weeks ago when the children participated in a competition organized in Slatina from July 3-7, 2024, where they received a special prize. The parents present at the Jegălia Town Hall refused to receive psychological evaluation and counseling services for the children, offered by DGASPC Călărasi, and stated that they do not believe the minors are affected by what happened, taking it all as a joke," as stated in the DGASPC Călărași press release.
The Directorate's representatives recommended the town hall to assess whether it is still necessary to retain the services of the instructor teacher who acted inappropriately in this case.
"DGASPC Călărași considers the instructor teacher's behavior towards the children from the Răsăritului Fanfare as unacceptable and will file a complaint with the criminal investigation authorities for specialized verifications," the institution stated.