Ravinesh Chand, a teacher at Colwill School in north-western Auckland, allegedly managed his family’s business and even bought a house while he was supposed to be teaching his class.
Chand, while agreeing his actions were inappropriate, denied serious misconduct. A tribunal held in Wellington on Tuesday said Chand’s actions amounted to misconduct.
"In our view, this case is one where the teacher's conduct amounts to misconduct but we do not think it meets the test for serious misconduct," tribunal chairman, Kenneth Johnston said.
Teachers Council's complaints assessment committee lawyer, Stefan Kaminski, told the tribunal Chand's computer records showed him logging into Xero accountancy software during class time.
"Mr Chand was obviously doing his books while sitting in class. That's not just the sort of flagrant swapping of emails with friends which mightn't take much attention.
“That's a business pursuit for which we can expect him to be fully engaged. The core of the misconduct was the deprivation suffered by the students," Kaminski said.
