B.C. elementary school librarian suspended for ‘sexually suggestive’ social media accounts

An elementary school's library is seen in Toronto on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. (Chris Young/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

A North Vancouver elementary school teacher has been suspended for an additional month for inappropriate conduct that included posting sexually explicit content on social media and allowing students to follow his accounts, according to the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.

Tariq Mahmood Malik was working as a teacher librarian at an unnamed school in District 44 at the time of the misconduct, the 2023-2024 school year, the regulatory body explained in a consent agreement posted online earlier this week.

As described in a list of facts the commissioner says Malik admitted to, he had Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook accounts on which he identified himself as a teacher and which were publicly accessible.

The content he posted included videos that were “sexually suggestive and explicit,” the regulator said, including images of “scantily dressed women” and “derogatory and stereotypical” depictions of women in Vancouver and Vietnam.

Malik told several students about the social media accounts and allowed students to follow him on Instagram and YouTube, even exchanging messages and comments with at least four of them.

In one June 2024 incident described in the document, Malik encouraged a group of Grade 6 and 7 girls to watch his videos on a school library computer.

“These videos were not appropriate for elementary-aged students because they included sexually suggestive content and inappropriate language. One of the videos was rated 18+,” the agreement reads.

Malik also filmed a group of female students—whether they were the same girls that were shown videos in the library is unclear in the document—performing skits for his YouTube channel. Whether or not the videos were ultimately posted is also unclear.

Other conduct not related to his social media activity listed in the decision includes touching female students, hugging them, and standing “very close” to female students during announcements.

The commissioner added that Malik owned a Kawasaki motorbike and carried a keychain with “Kawasexy” written on it, and left it in places students could see—in one instance showing it to a student and asking if they thought it was cool.

The school district suspended Malik 30 days without pay, ending on Jan. 24, and required him to complete a course on professional boundaries and see an occupational psychologist. The district then reported the discipline to the provincial commissioner, which decided to hand him another suspension.

In coming to a decision, the commissioner noted that when Malik identified as a teacher on his social media accounts he “undermined the integrity and reputation of the teaching profession and the Kindergarten to Grade 12 education system.”

He also did not act in the best interest of his students, and “used (them) for his advantage in building and promoting” his online accounts, the commissioner said, adding Malik did not maintain professional boundaries by interacting with students as if they were peers.

The commissioner suspended Malik’s teaching registration for one month, From Jan. 27 to Feb. 21.