Teacher admits to watching pornography in classroom

Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reports that a teacher has been suspended after admitting watching pornography in the classroom when students were present. The names of the teacher and the school are suppressed. The Teacher's Disciplinary Tribunal has suspended the man's teaching licence for three months.

Alan Bell from child protection agency ECPAT Child Alert questions the action taken. “One has to wonder why the suspension is only for three months and why the name of the teacher has been suppressed. What happens after the three months? And what is the impact of people wondering who this person is and casting a shadow of suspicion over male teachers. The most important issue here is that children are protected and the fact that the viewing was done in a school setting with students in the same room introduces an element of risk.”

The RNZ report went on to state that a student also accused the teacher of masturbating during a lunch break, but he denies the allegation. Tribunal's chairman Kenneth Johnston says the admission of watching pornography was enough to revoke the teacher's licence without proving the masturbation claim.

Bell states “Granting that adult pornography is legal in New Zealand it would be interesting to know if any illegal child sex abuse images were included in the sites being viewed. In many businesses around New Zealand an employer would be dismissed if found viewing pornography during work hours. Shouldn’t this policy apply even more so within our schools where teachers are expected to demonstrate a high level of accountability?”

ECPAT Child ALERT is a charitable trust working to prevent the sexual exploitation of children.

ENDS

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