14 cases of educator sexual misconduct prosecuted since 2011
Reuters file photo
SINGAPORE – There have been 14 cases of educator sexual misconduct which have been reported to the police and prosecuted in court over the last five years, said Minister of State for Education Janil Puthucheary in Parliament today (Jan 28).
Dr Puthucheary was responding to a question raised by Member of Parliament (MP) for Sembawang GRC Dr Lim Wee Kiak. Dr Lim has asked about the number of cases of educator sexual misconduct which have been reported and investigated over the last five years.
“The Ministry of Education does not tolerate sexual misconduct by educators towards their students,” said Dr Puthucheary. “We take every case reported to us very seriously, and all such allegations are reported to the police.”
Educators who have “transgressed and fallen short” of the Ministry’s standards of expected behaviour form a “very small minority” of the teaching force, said Dr Puthucheary.
“However, every case is one case too many,” he added. “We expect all educators to conduct themselves in a manner which upholds the integrity of the profession and the trust placed in them.”
Officers are suspended from service while investigations take place, said Dr Puthucheary, adding that this is to separate them from students.
Those found guilty are not allowed to remain in service, he added. “If necessary, the Ministry will conduct its own investigations to establish the facts and to take appropriate disciplinary action,” said Dr Puthucheary.
Officers will still be dismissed for "serious breach of professional boundaries" even if it is “inconclusive” whether there has been any sexual misconduct, he added.
“The safety of students is topmost in the Ministry’s mind when it manages such cases,” said Dr Puthucheary. “In the very minority of cases where there is insufficient evidence to mount a case for either sexual or professional misconduct, but there remains sufficient evidence to raise genuine concerns, officers will be redeployed to jobs that do not require them to interact with students.”
