Following the attacks on students, the authorities have lost the trust of parents and community as a whole, says Athiya Naseer.

Athiya who had served in the education sector for over 20 years, made the statement speaking to Maldives Weekly, regarding the issue of safety and security of students.

’They have lost the trust of parents and also the community because of these attacks. They should have been more proactive. As I said before, there were so many warning signals,’ said Athiya.

Stressing that there were warning signals from last year onward, Athiya said that authorities should have taken precautionary measures. She added that if the appropriate measures were taken then the magnitude of the incidents could have been significantly reduced or prevented. She added that authorities must do a lot to regain this trust.

Athiya noted that these attacks were a warning sign to all involved in the education sector. This, she added, was also an opportunity for authorities to understand the root causes of attacks of this nature. Athiya indicated that almost all of such incidents involved at risk students and stressed that these children must be identified, assisted and protected from such negative influences.

Reflecting on the safety and security of schools, Athiya said that it was common knowledge that schools were not safe. Issuing parent cards to parents, she said was a limited measure.

‘Parents can talk to their children, that’s something they can do. They can educate their children. Talk to them about what is happening in the school, who are their friends, who are they associated with. Make them aware of things that are happening in the community so that students can also protect themselves from falling into trouble,’ Athiya added.

Athiya further said that this issue was a prominent one as it concerned the security of children, stressing that this should not be politicized.