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Teachers disciplined after giving ‘most likely to become a terrorist’ award to student

Lizeth Villanueva was given the
Lizeth Villanueva was given the

Several teachers in Texas have been disciplined after a student was given a mock award naming her the child "most likely to become a terrorist".

Thirteen-year-old Lizeth Villanueva at the Anthony Aguirre Junior High school near Houston, was given the "certificate" a day after Manchester terror attack that saw 22 people, including many children, die in a suicide bombing.

Ms Villanueva, who has been the school's academic honours programme for two years, said her teacher laughed as she handed her the signed document.

It was supposed to be a joke that formed part of a mock end-of-year awards.

Ena Hernandez, Ms Villanueva's mother, said she was upset by prize, especially in light of the news of the Manchester suicide attack that was reported around the world.

“I was upset and very mad when I saw the award,” Ms Hernandez told The Washington Post. “I was surprised because my daughter has been doing well in the honours program.”

Ms Villanueva was also upset and shocked by the award which was presented to her in front of dozens of students.

She told the Washington Post that other awards that were dished out during the ceremony included the "most likely to become homeless" and "most likely to cry for every little thing".

She added that three other teachers in the room laughed when the awards were handed out. Ms Villanueva reportedly hasn't returned to school since the event occurred because she feels uncomfortable.

Channelview Independent School District issued a statement apologising for the "insensitive and offensive fake mock awards".

Mark Kramer, spokesman for the monitoring body said the certificates were a "poor attempt to poke fun".

“The teachers involved in this matter have been disciplined according to district policy and the incident is still under investigation," he said.