PTAs concerned over Dhivehi teacher at Hiriya

A group of Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) have raised concerns over a Dhivehi teacher who was transferred to Hiriya school, after he was found innocent in a court case concerning possession of pornographic images.

Hiriya school is an all-female secondary grade school which officially opened last year.

Director General of the Education Ministry Mohamed Saeed said that the PTAs of many schools in Male’ met with the Ministry yesterday to “express concern”.

”He worked in Dharumavantha School last year as a Dhivehi teacher and was transferred to Hiriya School along with some other teachers,” said Saeed. ”Ever since he was transferred we have received complaints from parents.”

”The teacher was suspended during the case and the court ruled that we should restore his job,” Saeed said.

He emphasised that the teacher had been found innocent, but parents remained concerned about the allegations.

”They said they did not like a man who had allegations of this kind against him to face the students everyday,” he said. ”Because of this issue he has not started working at the school but he remains officially registered as a teacher at Hiriya.”

He said that the PTAs were trying to prevent the teacher from working at the school.

Ahmed Riyaz, President of Hiriya School PTA, told Minivan News that parents were concerned that pornographic pictures of the teacher had been exposed “and everybody knows that”, despite the court ruling he was innocent.

”Courts do not always punish criminals,” claimed Riyaz. ”The court ruled that the pictures were not produced or leaked by [the teacher] – we do not know from the ruling whether it was him in the picture,” he added.

Riyaz said that as the school contained “a mixture of disciplined and undisciplined students”, there might be students “who would tease him by [spreading] the pictures and consequently get punished for it, which might disrupt the education of the student.”

Riyaz claimed Permanent Secretary for the Education Ministry Amand Ali “is the only one who is pressuring the school to have this teacher in Hiriya. She had sent letters to the Hiriya school principal demanding the teacher be allowed to work.”

He further alleged the Dhivehi teacher was transferred because he was “embarrassed to face students at Dharumavantha School,” and “does not have the qualifications to be a secondary grade Dhivehi teacher.”

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13 thoughts on “PTAs concerned over Dhivehi teacher at Hiriya”

  1. Gosh.

    Found INNOCENT of 'possession' of pornographic images? Heaven's no!

    I'd like to see an honest-to-god list of all PTA members and Hiriya school students who have never possessed 'pornographic images'.

    PTA members can be such idiots. I feel sorry for the guy who has to endure them.

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  2. Where is the School Board? Anybody who has had an allegation of pornography or child abuse should not be let back into the education system, nor matte rif he was convicted or not. We have too much stress for the kids as it is! We don't need more Naseem Sirs in our schools. If he is worried about going to Dharumavantha, why is he willing to go to Hiriya? Doe she think he would get less harassed? I wonder!

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  3. hahaha pornographic images? lol dammm Yameen ure so right! haha these stupid rules!!

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  4. Yaamyn, it is not only the PTA members but parents, of all students in Hiriyaa school, who are opposed to this man teaching their daughters. The indecent pictures are on the public domain for all to see. I strongly suggest you view them, put your self in the position of a parent of a daughter and then pass judgement. As a parent of a Hiriyaa School student I accept Yaamyn's challenge. We can produce a list if you have the guts to face us. Yaamyn and Innamaaaa, we demand high level of discipline and moral values from our children. We expect our child to obtain these values partly from home and partly from school. We want high quality teachers who are educated and respected. For a parent a court ruling of this sort is irrelevant as the person in question has lost his intergrity and the trust of parents. Of all the schools in the country why has the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Education sent this man to one of the two all girls schools? We assure you Yaamyn and Innamaaaa that the parents of Hiriyaa School will not allow a man of no intergrity to teach our daughters.

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  5. @Yaamyn: I think you misunderstand. The man has allegedly been caught on camera while engaged in a sexual act. Plus, the alleged photographs and his involvement has been advertized through the media to the extent that his presence would be both an unnecessary distraction and a deterrent to the smooth workings of the school.

    In our attempts to be liberal members of society, I think we all sometimes forget that certain cases do warrant a reaction such as that of the PTA(s) in this case. Allowing the teacher back into the education system, especially as a teacher who faces public scrutiny on a daily basis, would not only curtail his rights to a proper working environment but also encourage student delinquency.

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  6. dvd: is there anything in the maldives that is not a joke?

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  7. @fe-rk

    typical maldives right? hehe. doesn't sound like you've really been out and around much have you? if you have then you probably have a pretty thick skull...

    anywhere in the world, when it comes to their children, the typical parent will be most strict, judgemental and paranoid about anything that may have an affect on them...

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  8. its more than the teacher been teased. children are at risk...whether proven or not, he should not be allowed to work in a place where he has free access to children...this country is gone nuts

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  9. Dear Readers,

    IF the Judicial Service Commission qualifies all sitting judges according to the Good Character criteria they adopted on 11 May 2010, we will (if records at JSC are true) have amongst our judges:
    -- At least 01 judge who had been arrested once for possession of pornography; once for disruption of public order; and once for assault.
    -- About 19 judges with convictions for fraud/corruption, sexual offences etc.

    We have 45 days to 7 August 2010, and the Constitutional deadline.

    The matter now remains with the Parliamentary Independent Commissions Committee to decide if this is a serious issue of concern for the people and the State..

    Visit http://velezinee.wordpress.com for more on the issue;

    and express your views/concerns to your MP.

    Aishath Velezinee
    Member of the Judicial Service Commission
    appointed by the President under Article 158(h) of the Constitution.

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  10. I decided to include my comment here too so that our readers can have some reflections on this -
    The integrity and reputation of the judges in Maldives was a well-known fact to all of us, these judges were especially notorious in family cases. I would not want to detail here some of the incidents that have come to my knowledge. But reforming the judiciary of the country is a vital part for the establishment of the so-called democracy that MDP has been advocating for. Having voted for this democratic movement, I have found myself utterly disappointed with the way the government is handling the administration of the country in all respects. That said, I do accept that the MDP led coalition took over the reins of ruling the country at a time of total chaos and misplacement, but that is no excuse. The matter of these judges must be dealt with as a priority. I also call for the suspension of those judges who have been accused of crimes and professional misconduct and for investigations to be conducted. They are not above the law; they should be tried just like the rest. Those who are themselves guilty cannot be the arbiter of another man’s guilt or innocence for that matter! Similarly, judges who do not have the educational qualifications do not have a right to remain on the bench; Maldives is no longer a one man’s domain! And Ms. Velezinee, as a member of the JSC you should be directing these grievances to the Commission and to the respectable authorities, rather than writing them down in your personal blog! Previous commission members (on other commissions) have done the same thing, but in the end they failed to bring any change. It was all empty words and rhetoric! We expect more than this!!!

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  11. Ginafaharah System oiy gothun majbooruvanee mi baavathuge meehun ves vazeefaagai gengulhen.Vazeefa in vaki kiffinama eyna Tribunalah dhaane. Tribunal in hukun kuraanee eynaa ah vazeefaa dheyn. Civil Service Commissionun Permanent Secretary ah angavaane eyna vazeefa ah neren. Tribunal in massaikaiy kuranee Civil Service Commission ge ninmmunthah e ee ragalhu ninmmumeh noonkan saabith kuran. Mi kakahala maahaulehgai kaamiyaabu libenee kuh kuraa meehunnah.Tribunalun balanee e meehun jahaa goal ginakuran. Mee mi raajeyge haalath oiy goiy.Evves discipline eh neiy.

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