A teacher is quitting Bermuda College after being assaulted in the classroom and in protest at what she sees as a general decline in discipline.

The part-time teacher, who asked not to be named, is even more appalled because the attack took place in a continuing education class for adults at night.

In another incident, adult students in a night class decided they did not want to take an exam.

Bermuda College said the attack was believed to be the first in its 26 year history and that it encouraged the woman to report the matter to the Police, but she declined.

The college apologised to the woman, expelled the student from the campus, and said it took the incident extremely seriously.

The attack took place in an evening computer class in October after the teacher called security to remove a young woman who refused to turn off her music.

“When she was being removed by security, she popped me on the back of the head, although thankfully I wasn't injured,” she told The Royal Gazette.

The teacher said a security guard at the college offered to testify as a witness against the student if she wanted to press charges over the assault.

“I have been teaching there for six years and never had anything like this happen to me and it just completely took the edge off me,” she said.

“I was thinking I don't need to be here doing this. As adults, they can choose to come or not to come. To continue to come and then be so disruptive that when you are removed for bad behaviour, you pop someone? Is this the way I want to be spending my extra time? “I have searched over and over again about this incident and maybe the girl had a chip on her shoulder and maybe life's not fair.”

In the second incident, some of her students simply refused to take an exam one week after she postponed it because another student did not want to sit it the first week. “This is the only college in Bermuda and I believe everyone should get a chance. Some students kid around in high school and then they don't get to major universities, but maybe Bermuda College gives them a chance to get serious with their studies.

“I know there is this whittling away (of standards) but its our whole society. Should they be saying that everything that goes on in their life that no one can decide what they do, that they are masters of absolutely everything they do?

“There is a drive towards lawlessness and I can't figure it out, and its distressing to me. We see it in road rage. There does seem to be a decline, although not all of my students were disrespectful, some of them are great.”

The woman said she will not teach this winter, but will do one final semester in the summer.

A Bermuda College spokeswoman said yesterday: “This incident is believed to be a first for the College in its 26 year history, and after reviewing the circumstances involved, while not minimising the seriousness of the assault, it is considered an isolated incident, highly unlikely to be repeated.

There are hundreds of night students and “their carefully cultivated environment of learning will not be compromised in any way, or by any form of violence or misbehaviour, and the College will maintain its policy of zero-tolerance towards such”.

“The issue brings to light a larger, more complex philosophical educational argument that involves many two year community colleges elsewhere - that of weighing the desire to open wide the doors of welcome to all who desire higher or further education opportunities against trying to be all things to all people, some of whom are neither prepared nor accepting of the opportunities afforded to them.

“We sincerely regret the incident and can assure our stakeholders that safety and security measures continue to be reviewed regularly to prevent such incidents being repeated.”