Teachers fired for bad conduct

Hitting a pupil with a chair, grooming a young girl for sex and a $60,000 benefit fraud were among the charges that saw teachers struck off this year.

Others, including one who arranged for a gang hit on a principal, were censured for serious misconduct and had strict conditions put on their practising licences.

Statistics released to The Press under the Official Information Act show nine male and six female teachers had their registration with the Teachers Council cancelled this year.

Registration certifies that a teacher is trained, qualified and suitable to be a teacher, and is compulsory in all state schools.

New Zealand Educational Institute president Ian Leckie said that teachers being struck off the register showed the council was doing its job.

‘‘This is a system that will take those people away from children,’’ he said.

‘‘That in itself is the safeguard that parents expect and that those in the profession expect as well.

‘‘But 15 teachers being struck off out of 100,000 is not too significant.’’

Leckie said that while pupils would often test teachers, it was up to the teachers themselves to manage their own breaking point. ‘‘There are strong ethical values that sit alongside teaching as a profession,’’ he said.

The Teachers Council could not be reached for comment.

Some of the serious misconduct cases led to teachers being convicted in district courts.

The council does not hold information on schools where teachers who have been de- registered or censured taught, or the district where they live. The number struck off is down from the previous two years.