Arabiyya principal transferred to education institute
There are concerns among parents that Arabiyya school is adjacent to Jamaluddin School.
By
Aman Haleem
Principal of Arabiyya School Mohamed Shujau Abdul Raheem has been relieved of the responsibility of running the school and the temporary management of the school has been handed over to another principal, education ministry confirmed Sunday.
The ministry's statement came in the wake of rumours that the principal has been sacked for "acting in tandem" with parents' concerns about the school.
Denying this, Ahmed Ali, permanent secretary at the education ministry told Atoll Times that Shujau was still holding the post of principal, but had been relieved of principal's duties and shifted to the National Institute of Education.
Ahmed Ali attributed Shujau's removal from the responsibilities of running Arabiyya to a series of issues related to the running of the school.
"The change is in response to the education ministry's recognition of improving the functioning of schools," Ahmed Ali said.
Via a twitter account that is a platform for the school’s parents a tweet said that this is a step taken by the education ministry because the principal is not trying to stop the 'Save Arabiyya' campaign being run by the parents of the school students.
Denying the allegations, Ali Ahmed said that it was not a step taken by the education department in response to "some kind of rumours" and that the only objective was to improve the functioning of the school.
However, Ahmed was reluctant to reveal the name of the person entrusted with the responsibilities of running Arabiyya School next. When asked about his whereabouts, Ahmed said the responsibilities were handed over to a "very experienced principal" who is already working in a school in the city. He gave no further details.
In September, the education ministry awarded the construction of the new Arabiyya building on the old Jamaluddin school premises to Amin Construction for MVR 168 million. However, there are concerns among parents that Arabiyya school is adjacent to Jamaluddin School.
The issue of non-budgeting for Arabiyya School at the time of budget presentation for the next financial year has come to the fore recently, with the government saying that it was an "administrative lapse" and that the money would be included in the budget.
The students of the school are currently studying in a building which temporarily housed the foreign ministry near MTCC Hulhumale Ferry Terminal.
