Teacher suspected of grooming should have been suspended earlier, says activist

 

James Nayagam said teachers who have committed acts of misconduct should be relieved of teaching duties and required to undergo counselling. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: The teacher who allegedly had a relationship with a 17-year-old student should have been suspended when the matter came to light in December, according to child rights activist James Nayagam.

Taking exception to the move to transfer the teacher initially, Nayagam, who is chairman of Suriana Welfare Society, said sending teachers who have misbehaved to a different school would not stop the misconduct from recurring.

Such a practice should be done away with, he told FMT.

“Her suspension should have come immediately after the initial report (in December), not a transfer. Every time there is a case of abuse or misconduct, the education ministry transfers the teachers, maybe to a rural school,” he pointed out.

“So a rural school would receive a teacher suspected of misconduct or crimes. Such incidents then might occur again.”

Nayagam proposed that such teachers be assigned to administrative duties and sent for counselling.

In the meantime, they should be required to report to the ministry regularly to provide updates on their progress, activities and other relevant information, he said.

Teaching duties should only be restored upon proof of good behaviour, he added.

He was responding to a report on Friday that the education ministry had suspended the teacher pending an investigation into her conduct.

Its minister, Fadhlina Sidek, also said the student had been given psychosocial support and protection as per the ministry’s guidelines.

The issue first came to light when the student’s sister claimed in a series of posts on X 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 continued to communicate with each other and had secretly met at a beach. The posts were later deleted.

Nayagam acknowledged that the teacher had not committed a crime, as the act was consensual.

He said even if there was a sexual relationship, it would not fall under the purview of Section 375 of the Penal Code for statutory rape as it applies only to male offenders.

Female offenders are not subject to any specific provision.

However, Be My Protector Malaysia director Roland Edward said that despite the absence of such specific legal provisions, the teacher would still be considered a paedophile.

“Under Article 1 of the UN Convention, anyone below 18 is considered a child. So, it doesn’t matter how mature or forward-thinking they may be,” Edward told FMT.

He stressed that there is a need for proper screening of teachers before their appointment to prevent such incidents from recurring.

“There must be a mechanism to vet our teachers as well. We can’t afford to deploy incompatible people in schools, risking the safety of our younger generations, as issues like this can be quite traumatising,” he said.

Edward called on the education ministry to set up a special committee comprising various stakeholders, including child rights NGOs and civil society organisations, to shape a mechanism to vet teachers. - FMT