11-6-2023 (HANOI) A middle-school teacher in Ho Chi Minh City’s Nha Be District has tendered his resignation following allegations made by a woman who accused him of molesting his female students.
According to Ho Tan Minh, the office chief of the municipal Department of Education and Training, the male teacher from Nguyen Binh Khiem Secondary School has acknowledged his mistakes and requested unpaid leave until his retirement. The teacher, whose identity remains undisclosed, is scheduled to reach the retirement age of 60 years and nine months on December 1 this year.
The controversy emerged when a woman took to social media to report that her eighth-grade niece, who was in the math teacher’s class, was fearful and concerned due to ongoing harassment by the teacher and his treatment towards her and her friends at school. The woman’s online post claimed that the girl sought assistance and alleged that the teacher had touched her inappropriately.
As per the woman’s social media account, the teenage girl stated that the teacher had touched her and her friends’ breasts and thighs. The post highlighted that the girls were too frightened to inform their parents, fearing that the teacher would subject them to even worse treatment if they disclosed the incidents.
“The girl stated that this math teacher promised to buy gifts for her and her friends and even asked them if they wanted underwear,” the woman stated in her post.
Reportedly, the mother of the girl in question visited the school on June 8 to meet with the math teacher and other school representatives. However, the teacher informed her that he had accidentally touched a student’s thigh while bending down to retrieve his belongings.
In response to the allegations, the school suspended the teacher on Friday and requested that he provide a report on the incident. School representatives and district education officials have also met with the affected students and their parents to offer apologies.
Authorities in the Nha Be District have instructed district investigators to continue examining and addressing the case.
This incident follows previous instances of teachers facing molestation charges. In February, a 52-year-old teacher in Nghe An Province was arrested after parents accused him of molesting a schoolgirl. In April, a teacher in Dong Thap Province was apprehended by the police for sexually assaulting five male students on multiple occasions at an elementary school.
