Struck-off teacher back in class

A teacher with criminal convictions who was disqualified for swearing in front of students and taping a pupil's mouth has been caught teaching illegally.

However, the blunder was only discovered when he voluntarily applied for registration again.

The Teachers Council has refused to identify the man or the school he taught at, but has confirmed he was struck off the register in November 2002, aged in his 30s.

In August 2004 he applied for registration again, at which point the Teachers Council discovered he had been teaching for most of the year.

At a hearing in February this year, they rejected his application. But three months later, the council is yet to decide whether to prosecute the man or the school he worked for.

Teaching while deregistered is an offence punishable by a $2000 fine. A school that hires a deregistered teacher can be fined $5000.

Teachers Council director Peter Lind said the council would be taking a "strong position" on schools that employed deregistered teachers.

However, Dr Lind refused to comment further on the case.

In 2002 the man was a second-year teacher, having previously been granted provisional registration despite having criminal convictions which included credit fraud, theft as a servant and unlawful conversion of a motor vehicle - for which he had served time in jail.

Prospective teachers are obliged to prove themselves to be "of good character" and must consent to being vetted by the police. But having criminal convictions does not necessarily prevent someone being approved for registration.

However, teachers must renew their registration every three years, and the Teachers Council must deem them fit before they can stand in front of a class.

The man took the job at a school he described as "96 per cent Pakeha" because it offered him the opportunity to set up a bilingual unit and then a total immersion Te Reo unit.

But after only six weeks in the job, complaints led to him being referred to the Teachers Council.

He was accused of inappropriate behaviour in the classroom, including throwing a shoe at a student and putting tape over his mouth, swearing, giving children "the fingers", and telling them that "arsehole" meant thank-you in Japanese.

He denied the charges and said he had been the victim of prejudice since arriving at the school.

However, the council found he had shown little insight, "and had a tendency to blame others rather than accepting the responsibility".

Last year, the Teachers Council investigated 71 of the country's 86,000 teachers for misconduct, up from 38 the previous year.

By law, it is required to take "all reasonable steps" to ensure employers are informed about deregistered teachers. It maintains a list of cancelled teachers on its website, but does not notify schools directly when teachers are deregistered.

Dr Lind said the onus was on teachers to inform employers of their status, and on schools to check.

School Trustees Association president Chris Haines said the association warned school boards to carefully check new employees.

"There's a moral issue on the teachers to make sure they are registered. But legally the board is responsible for making sure they have registered teachers."