Action against teacher in alleged relationship with student only after police probe

 

Education minister Fadhlina Sidek said the teacher would not be allowed to interact with students until the investigation was over.

KLANG: The education ministry will only take action against a teacher who allegedly had a relationship with her 17-year-old student after the police complete their probe into the matter, said education minister Fadhlina Sidek.

She said the teacher was not allowed to interact with students until the investigation was over.

“The ministry will take action against the teacher once the police complete their investigation,” she said at an event here.

“Until then, we will adhere to all the set procedures.”

Fadhlina added that the student had been given psychosocial support and protection as per the ministry’s guidelines.

In a statement yesterday, the ministry said it had taken “appropriate action” in the case in accordance with existing guidelines.

PAGE chairman Noor Azimah Rahim had called on the ministry to immediately suspend any teacher under probe for offences involving the sexual harassment of students.

Azimah said presently, teachers probed for serious ethics breaches were transferred to another school due to the complex processes involved in dismissal.

On Sunday, Bukit Aman sexual, women and child investigations division principal assistant director Siti Kamsiah Hassan told Berita Harian a police report was lodged last December and all parties involved, including the teacher and the student, were called in to have their statements recorded.

Sepang police chief Wan Kamarul Azran Wan Yusof said the case is being probed under Section 14 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act.

He said the investigation paper was sent to Bukit Aman before the police were instructed to continue with the probe.

In a series of viral posts on X, which had since been deleted, the student’s sister claimed that the teacher had been meeting her brother despite being told not to.

In one of the posts, the sister said their mother had lodged reports with the police and district education office, and this resulted in the teacher being transferred to another school.

However, the sister claimed that the teacher and her brother still communicated with each other and had secretly met at a beach. - FMT