Teaching Council should have barred child sex offender a decade earlier

Summarised by Centrist

The Teaching Council should have struck teacher Timothy Fisher off a decade before he was convicted of numerous indecency and sexual offences against children, most under 12, a report by Katherine Anderson KC has found.

Education Minister Erica Stanford said a “rotten culture” allowed Fisher to continue teaching despite multiple warning signs.

She blamed excessive union influence and conflicts between representing teachers and regulating their conduct. Stanford has replaced elected governing members with ministerial appointees.

“That is going to be key to shift that rotten culture out of the Teaching Council which frankly was infected by the unions,” she said.

Stanford singled out NZEI president Ripeka Lessels, a former deputy chair and long-serving council member.

“I'm not sure her position is tenable as head of the teaching union any more,” she said.

However, NZEI pointed out that current chair Patrick Walsh, appointed by Stanford, also served on the council and its disciplinary tribunal during the period examined.

Read more at RNZ
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