A Kenyan court agreed that a high school teacher was rightly fired after being accused of hugging and kissing a student.
The Labor Court in Nairobi decided on Friday that the Teachers Service Commission was right to fire the teacher, known as NP, from Muthurwa Girls Secondary School. The judge said there was enough proof that justified the firing and that the process was handled correctly.
The case started in September 2023 after reports surfaced that NP had acted inappropriately with a student. He allegedly called the student out of class when the lights went out, hugged her, and kissed her on a staircase. Other students said similar things happened, and the school confronted him.
During disciplinary meetings, the student testified, and other students backed up her story. The teacher was also accused of giving the student his personal phone, which wasn’t allowed.
NP took the case to court, saying the process wasn’t fair and that his accusers didn’t testify correctly. He also said the evidence was given late and didn’t have medical proof.
The judge didn’t agree, saying the teacher was there when the witnesses spoke and could ask them questions.
The judge said that disciplinary hearings don’t need as much proof as a criminal trial, but that the evidence clearly showed that firing NP was the right thing to do. Putting him back in his job would hurt the public and could risk the safety of students.
This decision shows how vital it is for teachers to keep things professional with students and that this kind of misconduct won’t be allowed.
By Meta