Education Authority Revokes Teaching Licence of Junior Secondary Teacher over Inappropriate Physical Contact with Student

The Education Office (Disdik) of Sabu Raijua Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, has revoked the teaching licence of Rusly Lingu Djara (34), a junior secondary school teacher at SMP Negeri 2 Sabu Timur. The sanction was imposed after a video of him hugging and kissing a student in the classroom went viral on social media.

The Head of the Sabu Raijua Education Office, Yoel Riwu, stated that Rusly’s teaching licence was revoked as of Monday (9 March 2026). Rusly had been appointed as a Civil Service Employee (PNS).

“He is not permitted to teach from yesterday onwards with no specified time limit,” said Yoel via WhatsApp message on Tuesday (10 March 2026).

After his teaching licence was revoked, Rusly was temporarily withdrawn from the school and reassigned to the office of the Sabu Raijua Education Office.

“Teacher Rusly has been temporarily transferred to the education office,” Yoel confirmed.

Yoel stressed that physical contact between teachers and students, as shown in the video that went viral on social media, should not occur. Particularly troubling is that such conduct was carried out by an educator towards students who are still minors.

“Such actions, physical contact with underage children, should be avoided. Moreover, he is a teacher doing something inappropriate,” he explained.

To fill the vacancy in natural sciences teaching, the Education Office is still seeking a replacement teacher for SMP Negeri 2 Sabu Timur.

Separately, when contacted, Rusly declined to comment regarding the revocation of his teaching licence. He simply stated that one of the children visible in the viral video is his child.

Rusly confirmed that he is currently not married. However, legally he has been recognised as a single father.

“Of the six children in that video, one of them is my child who is legally recognised,” he said.

Meanwhile, the head of the criminal investigation unit at Sabu Raijua Police, Iptu Deflorintus M. Wee, stated that the matter is still under investigation by Sabu Raijua Police.

“The matter is currently being investigated,” wrote Deflorintus.

Previously, Rusly went viral on social media after his video was uploaded by the Instagram account @Honeyliwe. The post contained a narrative alleging inappropriate relations between a teacher and underage students with no blood relation, including hugging, kissing and even overnight stays. The account also requested the attention of the Sabu Raijua Regency Government.

Rusly said he was shocked when he first saw the post. He felt that in the post he was labelled as someone who was not acting properly as a teacher.

“When I first saw the post on Instagram, frankly I was shocked, because the video went viral and I was accused of being inappropriate,” said Rusly via telephone on Wednesday (4 June 2026).

He explained that in addition to being a teacher, he is also a content creator who regularly captures various moments on his social media accounts.

“I’ve been used to uploading videos with children until now, especially on Facebook Professional. Parents of the children also asked me why people were saying such things without knowing what was actually happening when I posted like that,” he said.