A teacher has been struck off for stealing school equipment and then attempting to sell it on Ebay.
Hamzah Arbi, an ICT teacher at Aylward Academy in Edmonton, London, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment last year after taking a Lego Mindstorm set - a programmable robot - and putting it on Ebay.
According to a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulations Agency (TRA), Mr Arbi was suspended from Aylward on 17 June 2016 following an allegation of theft.
The incident took place on 14 June 2016, when the head of ICT at the academy observed Mr Arbi accessing an Ebay account and looking at a Lego Mindstorm set.
The panel’s decision notice states that he was later observed “leaving the premises with black bags, which contained the equipment”.
“Later on that evening, the equipment was identified as being on sale on Ebay via an account, which Mr Arbi had access to.”
Mr Arbi admitted he had taken the equipment, but claimed he had done so to “build at home” and for “no improper purpose”. He blamed his wife for putting the items on Ebay.
However, Mr Arbi was subsequently found guilty of theft at Wood Green Crown Court in June 2017. He was given a six month custodial sentence and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £115 and costs of £2,800.
The panel said that Mr Arbi’s behaviour represented a “serious departure from the personal and professional conduct elements of the Teachers’ Standards” and involved “abuse of position or trust”, “dishonesty” and “the commission of a serious criminal offence”.
An “aggravating feature” of the case was that he continued to deny culpability following his imprisonment and in his written submission to the TRA - although he later accepted his wrongdoing in oral evidence. The panel said this showed he “failed to demonstrate sufficient insight” into his actions.
Mr Arbi was served with a prohibition order which he can apply to set aside in three years’ time.