Minister for Education Rosy Akbar says she was not aware of malicious Facebook postings allegedly made by teacher Kishore Kumar against parliamentarian Lenora Qereqeretabua.
Responding to questions on why the ministry took long to address personal attacks allegedly launched by Mr Kumar against National Federation Party member Ms Qereqeretabua, Ms Akbar said the ministry did not police social media postings.
“We don’t have a full time body to police the social media unless and until someone brings these matters to our attention,” she said.
“I am calling on people to come to us if they have issues with teachers’ postings on social media.
“As of now, investigations are proceeding into the Mr Kumar case and the procedure is that we issue them with enough time to show cause for their actions.
“It is only fair that he be given a chance to explain and defend himself.
When queried why Mr Kumar had been suspended with full pay, Ms Akbar said this was as per the ministry’s human resource policy which also stated teachers should not make any negative comments in relation to the Government, ministers or members of Parliament.
The policy also states teachers are not to use racial, gender-related slurs or language which is derogatory in relation to any individual or group on social media.
“It has been done to everybody else, everyone who gets suspended gets suspended with full pay and then we wait for the outcome of the investigation,” she said.
“I’ve already made it clear, all civil servants are governed by the Public Service Conduct and our policy is derived from the Public Service Conduct.”
The ministry’s social media policy does not state whether a teacher would lose their job if found guilty by the disciplinary committee and authorities thus Ms Akbar said investigations against Mr Kumar would be done thoroughly.
“Serious breaches of the policy come with serious consequences and that is why it is important for us to wait for the investigation report before we decide on the fate of any officer who undergoes an investigation.”
