Κλήσεις δασκάλων για το CCTV στις τάξεις

Από Cara Simpson

Ένας ΔΑΣΚΑΛΟΣ που απομακρύνθηκε άδικα θέλει να δει το CCTV στις τάξεις - για να προστατεύσει τους δασκάλους.

John Whitehead, ηλικίας 51, του πάρκου δέντρων ασβέστη, Κόβεντρυ, απολύθηκε από την εργασία του στο πρόσθετο σχολείο Corley το 2004 λόγω των αξιώσεων που χτύπησε το δάχτυλο ενός παιδιού σε μια πόρτα.

Ο κ. Whitehead, που είχε διδάξει με ένα ακηλίδωτο αρχείο για 24 έτη, καθαρίστηκε οποιωνδήποτε αδικιών από την αστυνομία.

Πήρε την περίπτωσή του για την άδικη απόλυση σε ένα δικαστήριο απασχόλησης, το οποίο κέρδισε.

Governors at the school were criticised for the way they had handled the investigation into the incident and the way they had dealt with Mr Whitehead.

But the tribunal also felt Mr Whitehead should have handled the incident better, and therefore decided the compensation for losing his job should be cut by half.

But three years on, he is still involved in what he describes as a drawn-out legal battle with Coventry City Council, which he says refuses to offer him work, or give him references.

And even after signing up to 17 agencies, he has found it difficult to find teaching posts.

He has been forced to take any jobs going, including working as a chef, to make ends meet and pay mounting legal costs.

But although he now works part-time with disabled students at Henley College, the former senior manager’s salary has plummeted from £36,000 a year to about £11,000. He has

risked losing his house twice, and both he and his wife have received counselling for depression due to the trauma.

Now the father-of-two says he would like to see cameras installed in all classrooms to protect the rights of teachers wrongly accused of misconduct.

He said: “If CCTV was installed in classrooms it would solve a lot of problems.”

He knows his plea will raise concerns over costs and loss of

civil liberties. But he said: “Coventry City Council has spent well over £100,000 on my case. And what about my civil liberties? My career and my health have been taken away from me.

“Bankers and shop assistants work with CCTV around them all the time without any problems, so why shouldn’t teachers?”

A city council spokeswoman said the council did not have the powers to install CCTV in schools and any decision would be up to an individual school.

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