A SWINDON-based teacher who kissed a 14-year-old student while working in Wales has been banned from teaching in England and Wales. 

Danish Bilha Maider Khan, 31, who has been called ‘a risk to pupils’ has been struck off the teaching register after being given a prohibition order.

Khan, who had worked at Stratton Education Centre and Riverside since 2006, was found guilty in June of two counts of misconduct by a General Teaching Council for Wales professional conduct committee.

It related to Khan making inappropriate remarks to teenagers and kissing a 14-year-old student in 2004 and 2005 while he was a teacher at two separate schools in Gwent, South Wales.

The former science teacher was not at yesterday’s hearing in Cardiff, where disciplinary committee member Helene Mansfield delivered the judgment.

She said Mr Khan showed no insight into the fact he abused his position by denying the allegations, adding: “He poses a continuing risk to pupils and prohibition is the only way of protecting young people and maintaining public confidence in the teaching profession.”

Mr Khan cannot apply to re-register for at least two years. Swindon Council suspended from his job at Stratton Education Centre when the allegations came to light earlier this year.

Nicky Watkins, who has a child at Riverside school, said: “He came across as a great teacher with a good personality, capable of teaching children with special needs from all backgrounds,” she said.

“He was friendly and encouraged, as I thought, children to build their self- esteem up.

“In my opinion he abused his position, and as he was teaching in a protected centre, the children are very vulnerable."

Mr Khan had denied both allegations. The latter was investigated by Gwent Police in 2008, following a complaint after he contacted the teenager through emails, and asked her to guess who he was. One clue he gave was ‘you had a snog off me’.

The Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute.

The committee was told Mr Khan made sexual and inappropriate remarks, including one relating to drug use, while at the Valleys school.

He claimed one remark – that a pupil was ‘stressed because she isn’t getting it’ – was misinterpreted by a learning support assistant.

The hearing in June also heard he had been convicted of six counts of theft in 1999 and 2000 and served three months in a young offenders’ institution.

However, Ms Mansfield said these are from more than 10 years ago and prior to Mr Khan being registered as a teacher.

He has 28 days to appeal the decision or the earliest he can apply to reregister is 2014, when a panel would consider his request.

Union

MR KHAN’S representative, Colin Adkins of the NASUWT union, said he didn’t attend yesterday’s hearing as he had been subject to racist and Islamophobic abuse on a website.

Posters had been trying to find where Mr Khan now lives, so he was advised not to attend.

Mr Adkins said Mr Khan maintains he did nothing wrong: “He was a newly-qualified teacher finding it difficult to manage a class and resorted to trying to bridge the divide by using over-friendly language and befriending pupils.”

He said he is now ‘flourishing’ in his new job and had ‘every chance of a good career’ before the proceedings.

Mr Adkins said he believed there could have been a degree of ‘racial discrimination’ in the allegations.