A FORMER teacher who was controversially convicted of assaulting two pupils has been struck off the teaching register.
Mike Barile, 54, from Dundee, faced 10 charges of aggressive and threatening behaviour towards pupils and staff at the hearing by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS).
The former maths teacher was found guilty at Dundee Sheriff Court in December 2008 of assaulting two teenage pupils, but the sheriff admonished him, finding he suffered "extreme abuse".
Mr Barile asked appeal judges to overturn his conviction and they reduced his sentence to an absolute discharge because of the "disgraceful behaviour" of the pupils involved and his "relatively insignificant" reaction.
However, yesterday the GTCS ruled that Mr Barile's conduct at Dundee's Lawside Academy and Madras College, in St Andrews, was "fundamentally incompatible with being a registered teacher".
"While pupil behaviour and poor disciplinary policy and practices were given as mitigating factors, a range of evidence clearly indicated that there were alternative actions and processes available to the respondent, which he failed to use," a report from the GTCS disciplinary sub-committee said.
The sub-committee noted there were a "considerable number" of transgressions over two years in two different schools and Mr Barile did not acknowledge the impact on his victims or show any remorse.
"The respondent went to considerable lengths to discredit the schools in which he worked and the colleagues and pupils with whom he worked, in order to justify his actions," the report added.
Mr Barile, who previously described the action by the GTCS as a "witch-hunt", was sacked from his job at Lawside Academy after his conviction.
The case began in January 2008 when a 14-year-old pupil told Mr Barile: "Your breath stinks." Mr Barile grabbed the boy by his shirt, pushed him and threatened to put him "through the blackboard". In May the same year, another 14-year-old boy swore at Mr Barile.
The boy was told to stay behind after class. When he tried to walk out, Mr Barile pinned him against a wall by putting an arm across his chest.
Another pupil said Mr Barile grabbed him from behind by the hair, forcing his chair on to its back legs.
Andrew Gibb, a solicitor who was representing Mr Barile, said the teacher had pulled the pupil's head up to see if he was unwell and "may have pulled some hair" by accident.
At a previous GTCS hearing, Mr Barile said: "I'd call it a witch-hunt. When I got the absolute discharge, I thought it was the end of this mess.
"I wanted to draw a line under things and get on with my life — but now this has happened.
"I've not been employed as a teacher for the last two years and don't plan on taking up any teaching position.
"I could understand if I was applying for a teaching post but I've not applied for anything and I'm not interested in doing so, so I don't know why they're doing this."
Since giving up teaching, Mr Barile has done voluntary work with United For All, a football charity.
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