The increase in cases of breaches of trust and code of ethics in the teaching profession is a major concern for the education department, says Maprik East - School Inspector Magdalene Kambaki.
Kambaki stated this following the induction of 24 professional stage primary school teachers who passed out in 2018.
She said the teaching profession deals with the first stages of a child’s life and it is important that teachers are well aware of their code of ethics and professionalism.
The 24 yet-to-register teachers were taken through the importance of being in a position of trust.
Kambaki said one major concern is teacher-student affairs.
She said the teacher is in a position of trust and once an affair with a student sparks, it breaches the code of ethics and the teacher can be penalised with termination and/or face jail time.
Maprik has experienced at least eight cases of a teacher-student relationship in the last two years, where the teachers involved were dealt with accordingly.
One head teacher is in jail with rape charges.