Hundreds
of teachers have criminal convictions and dozens have been stripped of
their teaching licences for inappropriate behaviour in the last two
years, newly released figures show.
The number of complaints to the Teachers Council has risen by about 50 per cent since it was set up in 2002.
Since
November 2009, there have been complaints against 664 teachers and 293
of them were for criminal convictions, according to figures released
under the Official Information Act, the Dominion Post reports.
Nearly
50 teachers were stripped of their teaching licences in that period,
including 14 struck off the Teachers Council register for serious
code-of-conduct breaches or criminal offending.
Cases include
sexual relationships with students, teachers viewing porn - including
bestiality - on school computers, theft, drink-driving and drug use.
Teacher
conduct prompted 277 complaints, about things such as violence,
dishonesty, sexual conduct, alcohol and drugs and pornography.
However,
Teachers Council director Peter Lind said the number of complaints was
small given the 100,000-strong teacher workforce and most met high
standards.
About 260 complaints, some vexatious, were dismissed in the past two years.
Primary
teachers union the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) says schools
sometimes make unpopular decisions about students and parents can
unfairly and vexatiously complaint about teachers.
NZEI national
president Ian Leckie said the union supported any initiative that vetted
out serious criminals or inappropriate individuals from the profession.
NZN