Permanent dismissal from Public Service Imposed on a Teacher Following an Appeal by the NTA Governor

Permanent dismissal from Public Service Imposed on a Teacher Following an Appeal by the NTA Governor

In July 2026, the National Transparency Authority (NTA) was notified, in accordance with the relevant legal obligation of public servants’ disciplinary boards, of the following disciplinary decision, which was issued following an appeal lodged by the NTA Governor.

Specifically:

Following an appeal lodged by the NTA Governor before the Second-Instance Disciplinary Counsil of the Ministry of the Interior (in 2023), the disciplinary penalty of dismissal from public service was imposed on a teacher for misconduct involving behaviour incompatible with the dignity or status of a public servant while on duty.

In particular, following a complaint by the mother of a minor female student, a Sworn Administrative Inquiry was conducted, the findings of which concluded – amongst other things – that there is serious - sufficient evidence that the teacher in question had committed the disciplinary offence of behaviour incompatible with the dignity or status of a public servant while on duty, and in the specific case of conduct constituting an offence against sexual freedom.

The teacher under investigation was referred to the relevant First-Instance Disciplinary Council for committing the disciplinary offence, as the preliminary Sworn Administrative Inquiry revealed that, over a period of three months, he had been verbally and physically harassing a minor female student in the first year of lower secondary school by isolating her in the classroom.

Following a criminal complaint filed by the mother of the minor female student, criminal proceedings were brought against the teacher for the repeated offence of sexual abuse of a child aged twelve or over, and he was referred for trial before a Mixed Jury Court.

By a judgment issued by the Mixed Jury Court in 2019, the defendant (teacher) was found guilty of the offences of (a) the sexual abuse of a child who had reached the age of twelve (12), but under fourteen (14) years of age, and (b) the repeated sexual abuse of a minor who had not reached the age of fourteen (14) by an adult, who, in this case, is the minor’s teacher, and was sentenced to a total of eight (8) years' imprisonment.

The defendant appealed against the judgment, on which the Mixed Jury Court of Appeal handed down a judgment in 2022, in which he was unanimously found guilty of the same offences and sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of six (6) years and ten (10) months. The convicted teacher lodged an appeal on points of law before the Supreme Court of Greece (Areios Pagos).

Subsequently, the competent First-Instance Disciplinary Council of the Regional Directorate of Primary and Secondary Education decided by a majority vote, to impose on the defendant the penalty of temporary suspension for twelve (12) months with full loss of remuneration (December 2022). The Chair of the Disciplinary Council dissented, expressing the view that the penalty of dismissal from public service should have been imposed.

The ΝΤΑ Governor lodged an appeal against the disciplinary decision before the Second- Instance Disciplinary Council of the Ministry of the Interior, arguing that the twelve-month (12) penalty was excessively lenient and disproportionate to the seriousness of his actions, and that the appropriate penalty should be dismissal from public service.

While the Governor's appeal was pending, the Sixth Chamber of the Supreme Court, by a decision issued in 2024, dismissed the teacher's application for cassation lodged in 2023. With this ruling, the decision of the Mixed Jury Court of Appeal (which had found him guilty on appeal) became final, resulting in the automatic dismissal of the teacher in question, that is, the loss of his status as a public servant. The Second-Instance Disciplinary Council of the Ministry of the Interior, upholding the objection lodged by the NTA Governor, imposed the penalty of permanent dismissal on the teacher in question, a penalty which was converted into a 12-month fine as the teacher was no longer a public servant.