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Dubai: The brother of Emirati student Asma Al Yamahi has said he wants her to stay in New Zealand and complete her studies - despite the furore over the sacking of her lecturer.
Saeed Al Yamahi told Gulf News he did not want his sister to come back to the UAE before receiving her master's degree.
Political Science lecturer Dr Paul Buchanan was fired when he sent Asma an e-mail rejecting her request for an assignment deadline to be extended after her father died.
Buchanan said that Asma, 25, was a poorly performing student who was "preying on some sort of Western liberal guilt" by asking for more time to complete the essay, which was part of her postgraduate studies for a master's degree.
'Unsafe'
As reported in Gulf News yesterday, Asma said some students had blamed her for the sacking, making her feel "unsafe" and question whether she should remain in New Zealand.
"Right now I am going to complete the course. Maybe in the next semester [which starts in February] I hope that I will be transferred," she said.
Asma, who comes from Fujairah and is on a scholarship from the Ministry of Higher Education, said she had been in contact with the UAE Embassy in Canberra, Australia, which covers New Zealand, to discuss moving elsewhere.
She said she was thinking of either returning to the UAE to obtain her masters degree or going to another country entirely.
Saeed, 32, the eldest child in the family, said: "I advised her to continue. We don't want her to stop after what's happened. She is still there, she is still struggling. I hope she will continue. We don't want her back without her certificate," he said.
Asma arrived in New Zealand in January this year and was not due to complete her studies in the country until late 2008.
As part of her postgraduate studies, Asma took a specialist politics course in transitional dynamics taught by Buchanan.
After the death of her father on May 19, Asma contacted Buchanan to request an extension to the deadline for the submission of the final course assignment.
'Shocked'
In an e-mail sent on May 30, Buchanan said he had been "too nice" to Asma up until then, adding that she was "the worst performer in the class".
He even questioned whether Asma's father had really died, adding: "You are close to failing in any event, so these sorts of excuses - culturally driven and preying on some sort of Western liberal guilt - are simply lame".
Saeed, who works for an oil company in Abu Dhabi, said he had been "shocked" by the e-mail Buchanan sent.
"It is amazing that a [lecturer] with good experience like him would act like this," said Saeed.
"She was one of the closest to my father.
"When she came here before my father died, she was playing with him, she was talking to him, she was dealing with him like a small child. When she heard the news, she was shocked," he said.
Ministry to look into student's case
The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research will be looking into Emirati student Asma Al Yamahi's case.
In response to a Gulf News inquiry about the ministry's reactions and whether similar incidents have happened before, Saif Al Mazroui, Assistant Under-secretary at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, said: "I will see what happens on Sunday when I get a good look at the student's file."
- Reema Saffarini, Staff Reporter
Comments
This professor just attacked her
I'm a UAE national studying abroad. Students ask for [essay] extensions all the time. A simple 'yes' or 'no' would have been sufficient. Instead, this professor just attacked her. It doesn't matter if she is the worst or even the best student in class; no professor has the right to treat his or her students in this manner.
Yousuf Saif,
UAE
No ground for dismissal
As a former student of Dr Buchanan, I can assure everybody that he is not racist. In our class, last semester, he said that he believed the New Zealand Secret Intelligence Service (NZSIS) spied on the Islamic community far too much and that it amounted to racial profiling. Furthermore when I asked him whether white supremists were analysed by NZSIS, he said: "I hope so." He is a tough lecturer who makes his high standards very clear. He is not racist; he is an outspoken critic of the war on Iraq - as are the vast majority of New Zealanders. I'm sure if I performed as poorly as Asma and wrote an e-mail, the day after an essay was due, asking for an extension because I was at an Irish wake for my father, I would have got the same type of reply. He is tough on his students but only because he works incredibly hard for them. I do feel sorry for Asma and her loss and agree that Paul's e-mail was inappropriate, but it is not a ground for dismissal. He is the finest lecturer I have ever encountered at the university.
Ciaron,
New Zealand
Asma spoke out
Asma has done the right thing. I am happy that she spoke out. God knows how many other students have been treated like this by Dr Buchanan. I am finishing my MBA in Sydney as well, and I have not encountered such an issue. However, I am 100 per cent with Asma. She had to report him and the disciplinary action taken by the university has nothing to do with her.
Anahita Ramezanian
Sydney, Australia
Neither party was at fault
It's a shame that Dr Paul Buchanan got sacked and Asma has to consider leaving New Zealand after suffering a backlash. I do not think either party were at fault but the university itself. If it's true that he was frustrated with under-performers, then he must have sent that e-mail out of frustration. At graduate level, I know it's not easy for a lecturer to handle these things. After all, he is a human being. Whereas, I don't blame Asma for lodging her complaint, as I myself would have done the same. So, the university should have sent her a formal apology along with the lecturer's apology and should have temporarily suspended or re-trained Buchanan on how to deal with such issues in the future.
Shakir Ahmad,
UK
Students should perform
I am sorry for the death of Asma's father. It is really a major loss, but I do think a student should be ready to do his/her assignments before the due date. At graduate level, students are researchers and are expected to perform at higher levels. There was no reason as to why this student didn't submit her work on the due date. However, the teacher, I think, shouldn't have been this harsh because losing your father is not as easy as Buchanan thinks. I don't think he should have been dismissed. I think he should have been reminded that we are all human beings, including him, and he should remember how to behave when someone loses his or her family member.
Wajeeh Al Turkman,
US
Right decision
This is shocking news for students. This indicates the lecturer is racist. I appreciate the decision taken by Auckland University. This kind of a professor spreads hate and racism. Such people should be banned from teaching again.
Muzamil,
UAE
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