Coquitlam teacher suspended for hitting two students in the back of the head
A Coquitlam teacher prone to outbursts and who was charged with assault in an unrelated matter was suspended for a week for hitting two students in the back of the head.
Pallingalthodi Jabbar was teaching in the Coquitlam school district at the time of the charges and incidents in question.
According to a consent resolution agreement posted by the B.C. Teacher Regulation Branch this week, Jabbar acknowledged being charged in February 2018 for assault and uttering a threat against another adult. Jabbar attended counselling and anger management training, and the charges were eventually stayed in September of that year.
As the charges are contrary to codes of conduct set out for teachers, the school district issued Jabbar a letter of discipline in January 2019, suspended him for five days without pay and ordered him to attend further conflict training for educators at the Justice Institute, along with counselling.
In a district investigation, it was found that on Dec. 1, 2017, Jabbar had hit a student on the back of the head with his open palm while teaching a Grade 9 drama class. The student had made a sudden, loud noise with a microphone, according to the consent resolution agreement.
Just days later on Dec. 12, 2017, Jabbar again “cuffed a student in the back of the head with his hand and said, ‘Are you really that dumb?’ ” after the student answered a question incorrectly during a Grade 9 math class.
As a result of the two interactions with the students, Jabbar was issued a letter of discipline, a letter of warning and was suspended for two days without pay, which was served in January 2018.
In the decision, the commissioner found that Jabbar had “engaged in unwarranted physical contact with students on more than one occasion; (his) emotional state had a negative effect on his conduct” and he had taken at least two remedial courses and a third anger management course.
In signing the consent resolution agreement, Jabbar acknowledges the facts set out are true.