Lecturer reprimanded after offering female student cash to decorate his home

A COLLEGE lecturer who offered to pay a student £100 to do some decorating at his home has been reprimanded by his profession.

Mark Jones, who taught the teenager on his introductory painting and decorating course, was also found by a fitness to practise committee to have repeatedly contacted her on his personal phone and given her gifts.

An Education Workforce Council panel found Mr Jones had behaved in an “inappropriate and unacceptable” manner towards the girl – known as Learner A – who was a student at Coleg Sir Gar in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire.

The three-day hearing was told Mr Jones offered the student £100 to do work at his home and also bought her a healing stone and a book on confidence.

The panel ruled Mr Jones had contacted the student several times using his personal mobile phone, had given her gifts and offered her paid decorating work at his home.

But they dismissed allegations he had shared personal information with her, invaded her personal space during a tutorial and offered to let her stay over in his spare bedroom while working at his home.

They also rejected allegations Mr Jones – who has since been dismissed by the college – had completed exam papers on behalf of Learner A and two other students.

Peter Owen, chairman of the panel, said the giving of gifts to the student was a “serious failing” by Mr Jones.

“These were personal items given as a gift to a single learner under a cloud of secrecy to at least some extent,” he said.

“Plainly, this was not good practice and amounted to an individual learner being singled out for what could have certainly been perceived as preferential treatment.

“This was unprofessional conduct to an extent that was unacceptable.”

Describing the offer of paid work

COMMENT AT HERALDSCOTLAND.COM at his home, Mr Owen said: “Mr Jones may well have been well intentioned in terms of his motivations; however, he was misguided and his actions were certainly ill-judged.”

Mr Owen said the panel found overall that Mr Jones’s behaviour amounted to unacceptable professional conduct.

The committee imposed a reprimand on Mr Jones, which would be on his registration record for two years.