A man who worked in the North Vancouver School District has had his teaching certification suspended for one-month after a series of inappropriate interactions with elementary school-aged students.
A summary of a consent resolution signed between the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation and Tariq Malik was published on Tuesday.
According to the summary, Malik was employed as an elementary school teacher but was working as a teacher librarian during the 2023-2024 school year, which is when the incidents happened.
The summary said Malik had various social media accounts that used a different name and mentioned that he had a Bachelor of Education degree.
“The social media accounts had no privacy settings and were fully accessible,” the summary said.
“They included video content created by Malik, which was not appropriate for elementary-aged students because this content included sexually suggestive and explicit content.”
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The Commissioner said several students at the school were told about Malik’s social media accounts, several viewed the accounts and were, at one point, told to watch Malik’s video during school time. The summary said many of the videos were rated 18+.
Additionally, Malik accepted students as followers on his accounts and exchanged messages and comments with at least four of them.
Also during the 2023-2024 school year, Malik reportedly touched female students on the shoulder, neck and poked their stomachs including when a student was wearing a crop top.
He also reportedly stood “very close” to female students while doing school announcements which made the student uncomfortable, the summary said.
The Commissioner said he owned a Kawasaki motorbike and often carried a keychain with the word “Kawasexy” written on it and left it where students could see.
The summary said that when a student was singing a Sabrina Carpenter song, Malik found an image of the pop star in a bikini and said she was “cute.”
In June 2024, Malik asked a small group of grade six and seven female students if they wanted to be filmed in a skit for his YouTube, adding they would need permission from their parents.
However, he filmed one student whose parent did not give permissions and another whose parent thought the video was school-related.
On Aug. 30, 2024, the school district suspended Malik and on Sept. 3 made a report to the Commissioner.
The summary says Malik took an “undertaking” on Sept. 24, 2024 not to teach in the kindergarten to Grade 12 education system.
On Nov. 29, 2024, the district suspended Malik without pay from Dec. 2 to Jan. 24 and ordered him to complete a course on reinforcing respectful professional boundaries.
On Dec. 18, 2024, the Commissioner proposed the consent resolution agreement.
According to the agreement, Malik admitted the incidents laid out in the investigation were true and admitted that his conduct was “unbecoming” and constituted professional misconduct.
Malik agreed to a one-month suspension of his teaching certificate from Jan. 27 to Feb. 21.
The Commissioner said Malik’s social media account, in which he identified himself as a teacher, included content that "undermined the integrity and reputation of the teaching professions.”
Additionally, the Commissioner said he did not act in the best interest of students, used students for his advantage in building and promoting his accounts and failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries.
