The Teaching Services Commission is urging police to report teachers they have charged and arrested.
The Commission, as an employer of all teachers, appeals to the police to report if they arrest and charge teachers with various criminal offenses. They (police) must inform the TSC
Joel Nava, Commissioner Policy
He made this call following recent media reports of teachers being arrested and charged with offenses considered as serious in the teachers’ disciplinary manual.
Recently daily papers have reported quite a number teachers committing those offenses.
This is in regards to teachers who are being arrested and charged by police for committing various criminal offenses like rape, official corruption, misuse and misappropriation of school funds, causing damage to public property and other sexual offenses such as consensual sex with students.
TSC has never been informed by police when they arrest and charge teachers under the Teaching Service Act 1988.
Teachers that are charged for committing criminal offenses, whose penalties are more than 2 years, should not be on payroll.
The Teaching Service Act provides that once a teacher that is already charged is cleared by the Courts or found not guilty, his salaries can be reimbursed by TSC. However, if the teacher is found guilty, the TSC will terminate the teacher from the teaching service.
After he is terminated, the Secretary for Education will then be requested by TSC to de-register the teacher on the basis that he or she is not a fit and proper person to become a teacher.
This is because teaching profession is a respected profession that requires teachers to maintain high level of professional conduct in the community.
Therefore the Commission is appealing to the police to report teacher who commit criminal offenses.
Commissioner Nava