9:00am Wednesday 18th July 2012
By Scott D'Arcy
A QUESTION mark hangs over whether Swindon Council were made aware a teacher was facing allegations about his conduct at his previous schools before a General Teaching Council hearing last month.
The Adver reported on Saturday that Danish Bilha Maider Khan, 31, who has worked at Stratton Education Centre and Riverside since 2006, was last month found guilty of two counts of misconduct by a General Teaching Council For Wales professional conduct committee.
It related to allegations dating back to 2004 and 2005 while he was a teacher at two separate schools in Gwent, South Wales, before he was employed by Swindon Council.
The council suspended him immediately upon learning of the GTCW hearing result and is now awaiting its decision on sanctions, but it is unclear if the authority was told by other agencies prior to last June.
Mr Khan had denied both allegations but, following a two-day hearing on June 15, the committee concluded he made sexual and inappropriate remarks to a class at Cwmcarn High School between September 2004 and January 2005.
It also ruled he had an inappropriate relationship with a female pupil at West Monmouth Comprehensive School, in Pontypool, in March 2005, which had involved the pair kissing in a science room.
The second allegation, which included emails sent from Mr Khan’s account to the pupil three years later, was investigated by Gwent Police in 2008, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute.
A spokesman for Gwent Police said they were unable to comment on specific cases but that, in principle, there was a process in place to notify employers whose staff were the subject of investigations.
Meanwhile, the GTCW only began its investigation when the case was referred to them in July 2010.
The Adver asked Swindon Council three days ago whether it could confirm if the council was made aware of the allegations at the time of either the police inquiry in 2008 or the GTCW investigation since 2010.
A spokesman for the council said he was unable to comment because he was waiting for a response from the council’s human resources department.
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