A Ghanaian, Jedidiah Pabifio, working in the United Kingdom (UK) as a teacher, has been found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct, against his female students, leading to his dismissal from a prominent school called, Our Lady’s Convent School.
In one of the many instances, the diminutive teacher, asked one of his female students to translate in Spanish; “Will you have sex with me?”
Ironically, Mr. Pabifio’s misfortune is that, he did not commit the crime here in Ghana, where a teacher sexually abuses his pupils or sometimes impregnates some of them, but is only transferred by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to another school as punishment. The UK authorities, according to an 18 page report available to The Herald, did not spare the Ghanaian.
Interestingly, Ghana is dealing with a similar thing, where three teachers are reported to have impregnated 10 pupils at Ho Airfield Basic School in the Volta Region, and both GES and the Ministry of Education, is yet to take a significant action.
Mr. Pabifio, commenced employment as assistant head of science at Our Lady’s Convent School in September 2009, with his Teacher Reference Number as 0610849, while his National College for Teachers and Leadership (NCTL) case reference is 11891.
Jedidiah Pabifio, born on September 28, 1975, working at Our Lady’s Convent School, Hackney, London, was found guilty by a professional conduct panel (“the panel”) of the NCTL (“the National College”) convened on 29 and 30 June and July 1, 2015 at 53 to 55 Butts Road, Earlsdon Park, Coventry CV1 3BH to consider the case.
The panel, which was constituted by the NCTL, was to investigate his failure to adhere to professional boundaries with female pupils, by engaging in the following inappropriate conducts.
The five member panel, looked into four specific allegations being, inappropriately contacting students, having inappropriate discussions with students, inappropriate physical contact with students, touching a student on the lower back/bottom during an open evening, and having inappropriate contact/conversations with a student.
Featuring prominently among the details in the four point allegations is an instance where Mr. Pabifio, was said to have asked one of his young students name withheld for the translation in Spanish of “Will you have sex with me?” which occurred on September 24, 2013.
Others were, requesting for their telephone numbers and contacting another student on social media platform WhatsApp on or around September 24, 2013, were said to have happened between 2013/14.
There were also allegations of having inappropriate discussions with students, including asking a group of students if they will go to the O2 with him on September 24, 2013.
The rest were also allegation that in 2014, whilst employed at Our Lady’s in the same school, Mr. Pabifio, falsified a reference for Hays Recruitment by co-operating with a newly qualified teacher to produce a reference and inaccurately naming him as Head of Science, when he knew or ought to have known that, this was not correct.
The panel’s report available to The Herald said, “Hearing took place in public, and was recorded”.
According to the panel, both the accuse and complainants, were offered the chance to provide defense and evidence respectively, Mr. Pabifio, denied the accusation that, he asked for a translation in Spanish of “Will you have sex with me?” But according to the investigative group, facts available to it, pointed to the contrary.
“Both Student A and Student D, provided written statements to the NCTL, in which they stated that Mr. Pabifio, had made this request of Student D. The panel, found the evidence of Student A and Student D to be credible on this issue.
Their oral evidence to the panel, delivered by video link, was consistent with their written statements and withstood the test of cross-examination. The evidence of Student A, was also consistent with the evidence of Student D, and vice versa”, the panel said.
Suggestion by Mr. Pabifio that, the students “may have colluded” to put the allegations on him, was shot down by the panel.
It said, “the panel, did not find any indication that Students A and D, had colluded in relation to the information underlying this allegation.
On the contrary, Student D, was able to provide further details about this event that were not heard by Student A, which the panel found to be consistent with the situation described, rather than an event fabricated through collusion.
Further, other aspects of the evidence of Students A and D (about other events) diverged very significantly, in a manner which suggested to the panel that, their evidence as a whole, had not been agreed between themselves”.
After careful consideration, “the panel is satisfied that Mr. Pabifio, did ask Student D for a translation in Spanish of “Will you have sex with me?” on September 24, 2013. Moreover, it is satisfied that, this was whilst he was employed at the School, and the discussion in which those words were said was inappropriate.
Satisfied that this amounted to inappropriate conduct and a failure to adhere to professional boundaries with female pupils, the panel accordingly found “this allegation proven”.
On claims that the accused had inappropriate discussions with students, “the panel found Student A’s evidence relating to this allegation to be credible, and it withstood the test of cross-examination”.
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