That TPJC PE teacher was lucky to be given just a warning while NJC teacher was fired

 https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/njc-coach-leaves-after-admitting-to-inappropriate-behaviour

NJC coach leaves after admitting to inappropriate behaviour

In the messages, the coach asked the student to "go into my heart" and meet him in his "comfortable room" to play some games. PHOTO: TNP READER

David Sun

PUBLISHED Aug 02, 2018, 09:55 AM

SINGAPORE - A relief physical education teacher at National Junior College (NJC) has been terminated for inappropriate behaviour.

The coach, a student at Nanyang Technological University, admitted to sending inappropriate messages to female students from April to June, including asking one to meet him in his hostel room.

Several messages sent to the 17-year-old girl on social media platform Instagram were shared with The New Paper.

In the messages, he asked her to "go into my heart" and meet him in his "comfortable room" to play some games.

TNP understands that the messages made her uncomfortable, but she still met him in the single-bed hostel room with friends.

In other messages, he called her an angel and asked her out to study together.

TNP understands the coach, who is in his late 20s, also sent similar messages to other female students in the JC.

The girl's boyfriend, 20, told TNP that the coach had joined NJC earlier this year.

"When I asked him if he thought what he did was professional, he told me to just trust my girlfriend more," said the full-time national serviceman.

He said when he and the girl complained to the vice-principal, "he just brushed it off".

The school later closed the case without taking action against the teacher, he added, and the girl was told to "trust the teacher's professionalism".

However, NJC refuted his version, saying it was still investigating at the time.

Its spokesman said: "Our vice-principal was alerted by the student's parent about the inappropriate message sent in one encounter.

"An immediate investigation was carried out. The relief teacher had admitted and apologised for his inappropriate actions. The relief teacher is no longer with the school."

When contacted, a Ministry of Education (MOE) spokesman said it works closely with schools on the well-being of students and will continue to do so.

She added: "MOE takes a very serious view of every case where staff fall short of expected standards, even for relief teachers.

"For cases where relief teachers fail to comply with our standards of conduct and discipline, the schools will terminate their services."

Coaches contacted by TNP said it is not acceptable to invite students and athletes to meet them at their residences, and such practices are not normal.

Mr Gary Guwe, 33, a communication skills coach at Catalyst Empowerment Academy, said it was important to draw a clear line between teacher and student.

"I do not talk about my personal life or anything intimate, and I do not share what I do in my free time," said the coach of 13 years.

"Even when the students are being cheeky, coaches should refrain from further engagement."

A coach in his 20s, who oversees a national team and wanted to be known only as Mr Zhang, said coaches should not abuse their position of authority.

TPJC scandal was just tip of the iceberg for that ex PE teacher.

 

Teacher warned for having 'sexy legs' banter with JC girl

https://sgforums.com/forums/8/topics/193929/

News

Teacher warned for having 'sexy legs' banter with JC girl

Nur Dianah Suhaimi

680 words

4 June 2006

Straits Times

English

(c) 2006 Singapore Press Holdings Limited

He was caught after his messages praising her beauty were forwarded to the whole school

HE SAID she had sexy legs and told her that she was pretty. Then he told her he was attracted to girls from her former school.

Flirty conversation between two adults? No, this exchange was between a 28-year-old male teacher from Tampines Junior College and a 17-year-old student.

He was caught after the messages were forwarded to the whole school. He was hauled up by the college principal, counselled and given a verbal warning.

It all started with a friendly exchange of messages on the JC's intranet messaging system between the teacher and the first-year arts student, formerly from Tanjong Katong Girls' School.

But soon, the messages became more than just friendly chat.

Aside from the 'sexy legs' exchange, he asked her if she had a curfew and if she often went out late at night.

When she told him she was only comfortable with people she knew well, he compared her to a new car which has to be warmed up first before it could function. He also asked her to go with him to buy school supplies.

The student told The Sunday Times that she thought the teacher was just being friendly when he started messaging her. She suspected something was not right only when he started commenting on her legs and her looks. She said she continued messaging him because she did not want to offend him.

'But when he asked me out, I stopped messaging him totally,' she said.

It might have ended there but the girl forgot to log off after using a school computer to check her messages on April 13.

Another student using the same computer later chanced upon her messages and read them out of curiosity.

Said the second-year science student: 'I realised that the teacher was doing something very wrong. I thought he should be exposed. That's why I decided to save the messages.'

He also forwarded them to his classmates and the messages, dated from March 31 to April 9, ended up being passed on to almost every student in the school, causing an uproar and a 'student-teacher scandal'.

College principal Goh Hwee Choo told The Sunday Times she has counselled the teacher three times and also gave him a verbal warning. But she added that she wanted to give the teacher, who has been with the school for a year, a second chance.

She said: 'As a new teacher, he might be a little naive about how to conduct himself professionally. His comments were not right but there was no physical relationship between him and the student.'

The Ministry of Education (MOE) said it was leaving it to the school to handle the matter but added that had there been any physical relationship between the two, it would have investigated and taken disciplinary action against the teacher.

The teacher told The Sunday Times that he regretted being too friendly towards the student.

'There was no ill intention on my part but I should not have been over-friendly towards any student,' he said. 'From now on, such over-friendliness will stop.'

The JC girl said the issue had not only affected her studies, it had also affected her social life. She described how schoolmates talked behind her back and some had even approached her friends to ask for details.

She told her parents when rumours about her began circulating throughout the school. Said her mother: 'I was shocked when I heard about it. As a teacher, he should be protecting the students.'

The student said she planned to avoid the teacher in future and regretted not reporting him to the school.

She said: 'I didn't want to blow up the matter and attract unnecessary attention. But now I know that if a teacher crosses the social boundaries, we should report it to the principal immediately.'