London:
A 37-year-old teacher of Indian descent from the North West of England has been banned from teaching for a minimum of two years after a professional conduct panel found she failed to disclose a fraud conviction to her employer.
Dipti Patel was a teacher at Manchester Academy and was charged with “unacceptable professional conduct and/or conduct which may bring the profession into disrepute” for failing to publicly disclose a September 2020 conviction at St Albans Crown Court.
At the Professional Conduct Panel hearing, held last month, it was noted that Patel was convicted of the offense of “unfairly misrepresenting things to make a profit for self/another or cause a loss to others/ exposing others to risk”.
“The panel believes that Ms. Patel’s conduct fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession. The findings are particularly serious because they include a finding of dishonesty, which the panel describes as ‘inherently serious,'” it noted. panel in a decision on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE) last week.
“I therefore believe that a two-year review period is necessary to comply with the maintenance of public confidence in the profession. This means that Ms. Dipti Patel is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and that she cannot may teach at any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. She may request that the ban be lifted, but no earlier than 23 May 2025, at the earliest two years from the date of this order,” it concludes.
The panel was pleased that Patel still had “a lot to offer the teaching profession” and that a restraining order with a review period could lead to her filing for the injunction to be set aside at the end of the review period.
“Accordingly, the panel has recommended that the Secretary of State (Gillian Keegan) issue an injunction, with Ms. Patel being able to apply to review the injunction after a period of two years,” the decision said.
Patel had admitted the allegation against her and the panel said it was satisfied that her confession was “unambiguous and consistent” with the surrounding evidence and therefore found the allegation proven. She has the right to appeal the decision of the panel to the High Court in England.
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