Teacher dismissed following school inquiry into behaviour towards student
A high school language teacher has been dismissed following an investigation into an allegation about his behaviour towards a student.
Horowhenua College in Levin confirmed in a letter to parents yesterday that Asaria Saili, who also served as the school’s Pacific dean, was no longer employed by the college.
Principal Grant Congdon told the Herald on June 17 an allegation had been disclosed to the school late last year.
Saili, also known as Matua Ria, had been on paid leave while an employment investigation was launched, Congdon said.
The college said yesterday it had completed its employment process, overseen by GovHub, the New Zealand School Boards Association’s advisory service, after appointing an independent expert to investigate the allegation.
“The outcome of our process is that the concerns regarding Mr Asaria Saili’s conduct were upheld. As such, Mr Saili has been dismissed and he is no longer employed by Horowhenua College.”
The school said police and Teaching Council investigations remained ongoing, and it could not comment further to avoid affecting their outcome.
Horowhenua College principal Grant Congdon has confirmed Asaria Saili is no longer employed by the school.
Teaching Council interim chief executive Tom Gott previously told the Herald the council did not ordinarily comment on matters involving specific individuals subject to an ongoing statutory process, but recognised the “high degree of public interest in this matter”.
“We are satisfied that in this case the public interest in the safety of children and young people outweighs the normal privacy considerations ... the Teaching Council has received serious concerns relating to this individual and has referred these to the appropriate statutory process.”
Saili was not a registered teacher, but previously held a Limited Authority to Teach (LAT), which expired on March 7.
“The individual does not hold any current authority to teach in New Zealand.”
Horowhenua College teacher Asaria Saili worked as a language teacher at the Levin high school before he was put on paid leave as part of a school investigation. Photo / Horowhenua College website
The council was working closely with the school and relevant agencies, Gott said.
“We take our obligations to safeguard children and young people extremely seriously ... we are unable to comment further on the detail or progress of the statutory process at this time, to ensure fairness and uphold the principles of natural justice.”
Congdon previously said he also could not provide any details on the allegation because of the privacy required under the employment investigation process.
The school decided “early on” in its investigation that it “wasn’t appropriate for Mr Saili to be in class” while the process took place, he said.
Saili’s teaching registration had lapsed since he went on leave, because he was “teaching on an LAT and it hadn’t been renewed because these investigations have been in process”, Congdon added.
LAT stands for Limited Authority to Teach and allows people to teach if they have specialist skills or there is a shortage of registered teachers in their area, according to the Teaching Council.
The Teaching Council has been approached for comment.
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