A teacher has been kicked out of the profession after confessing to an “Edward Cullen‑type love” for a schoolgirl and saying he’d give up his career to be with her.
Rafiqul Islam, 34, sent the shocking Instagram message to the pupil, known only as Pupil A, while working at Friern Barnet School in north London in 2022, even comparing his feelings to the Twilight vampire. A Teaching Regulation Agency hearing ruled he’d called the girl “cute”, told her he loved her and acted in a sexually motivated way, branding his behaviour “unacceptable”.
“At the beginning of July last year I developed a crush on you. By the end of the school year I have fallen in love with you,” Mr Islam said in an extract of his Instagram message to the child, the Daily Star writes.
View 2 ImagesThe 34-year-old teacher compared his feelings to the Twilight vampire(Image: DF-10639)
He went on to say: “The world became meaningless to me without you, and I couldn’t stop thinking about you. It wasn’t the normal type of love, but the Edward Cullen type of love.
“School holidays were particularly painful as sometimes I would spend most of my day in bed just thinking about you. Despite how much I love my career, I would sacrifice it all if you want to be together.
“I love you (Pupil A) and I really hope we can be together, as this would make me the happiest man alive.”
During his hearing, Mr Islam told the TRA that he had sent the message to gauge whether or not the child felt the same way about him, claiming it was not sexual and he was seeking “companionship”.
The 34-year-old added that he has never been in a relationship before, or pursued sex outside of marriage due to his religious beliefs. The struck-off teacher also said that his previous use of dating apps proved he was only interested in finding someone to marry.
He used the word “infatuation” when asked to describe his feelings, something he claimed to have only felt 10 to 20 times in his life. Mr Islam believed that Pupil A liked him or had feelings for him, the panel said, before concluding that he failed to follow the school’s safeguarding process in the wake of this belief.
The panel ruled that his actions could bring the teaching profession into disrepute.
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“The panel considered that a fully informed member of the public would unquestionably find it to be entirely unacceptable for a teacher to seek to pursue a relationship with a child for whom he was responsible, including in declaring love to her and seeking to pursue a future relationship, as it had found that Mr Islam had,” the panel said.
“The panel noted the clear upset which had been caused to Pupil A.”
Mr Islam acknowledged that it was wrong to tell a pupil he loved her and that he was a relatively new teacher at the time and made a poor decision for which he apologised, and that he had changed over the past four years.
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The panel has banned the 34-year-old from teaching indefinitely, in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.