Teacher accused of physically abusing special needs’ student released

The teacher who was arrested on suspicions of physically abusing a student with special needs has been released from custody.

The case had come to light last Thursday.

Police said the teacher suspected in the case was arrested under a court order on Friday night, however, has since been granted conditional release by the court during a remand hearing.

Police, in collaboration with the relevant authorities, are investigating the case.

In a statement on Thursday, Education Ministry said that a school in the Male’ area had brought the physical abuse of a special needs student studying in the primary grade by a teacher to the Ministry’s attention.

Education Ministry Dr. Ismail Shafeeu has expressed concern following the incident, citing that violence against children with special needs will not be tolerated. The Ministry affirmed that the Ministry will submit the case to relevant authorities and responsibly implement measures to ensure there is no repetition of such an incident.

The Ministry also appealed to teachers to responsibly uphold the rights of children and facilitate a safe and peaceful environment for them to attain their education.

In Thursday’s statement, the Ministry stressed stressed they will not be able to disclose the identity of the accused teacher nor the name of the school as it may lead to the identity of the victim which is protected under the Child Rights Protection Act. 

The case comes after a case had school teacher was arrested in October last year on suspicion of grooming multiple students by discussing age-inappropriate topics.