Jamaluddin School states they deleted the post featuring South Galolhu MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem as one of its most outstanding alumni not because of pressure from the Education Ministry but due to certain actions by Meekail that should not be presented as an example to students.
Jamaluddin, a public school located in Male’ City, has been honoring its outstanding alumni in a series of social media posts as part of the countdown to its 40th anniversary.
Meekail, a politician from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), was featured on the school’s Facebook and X accounts on Thursday. However, the posts were deleted two hours later.
Speaking with Sun, Meekail said he was told that the school was pressured by the Education Ministry into deleting the posts.
Jamuluddin School issued a statement regarding the incident, explaining that the post, which was part of a series highlighting alumni profiles for the school's 40th anniversary, was removed after being published, as the school, as an educational institution, cannot present certain actions by a former student as an example for current students.
The school, citing the actions do not fall in line with the standard of behavior accepted by the school, said the post was also deleted due to concerns from parents following the recommendation of the school’s ‘Alumni Profiles Committee’.
Jamaluddin School denied reports speculating the posts were deleted from Facebook and X due to pressure from the Education Ministry.
Meekail expressed anger following the statement via a post on X. In his post, Meekail said political influence by the current administration on the school is evident from a statement released after 12:00am on a public holiday.
The public also expressed outrage over the school’s statement. Many have called against politicizing schools.
In the now-deleted posts, Meekail, 31, who received his primary education at Jamaluddin, was honored as one of the youngest parliamentarians to be elected to the Maldivian Parliament.
The parliamentarian was described as “a proud alumnus” and “a bright and diligent student.”
The posts highlighted that Meekai was a recipient of the Cambridge-Commonwealth Scholarship in 2015, and attained a Bachelor’s degree in politics, psychology and sociology from the Magdelene College, University of Cambridge, among his other educational qualifications. His achievements as a parliamentarian were also highlighted in the posts.