A maths teacher, Jamil Wali, who exchanged over 200 late-night emails with a "vulnerable" schoolgirl, including offering to find her the "perfect boyfriend," has been allowed to continue his teaching career. An employment tribunal determined that his actions went "well beyond" professional expectations and were labelled "highly personal" and "inappropriate" by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).
Wali, an Afghan national who arrived in Britain as a refugee at age seven, taught at King's Leadership Academy in Liverpool. The tribunal heard that between January and March 2024, he sent 204 emails to the student, with some sent as late as 11 p.m. He also told the girl, "I am always here" and "I got your back." Safeguarding concerns were raised after the school's IT systems flagged the high volume of communication.
The teacher admitted that his relationship with the student was excessive and inappropriate but denied it was sexual. The tribunal found the allegation of sexual misconduct was "not proved." During the proceedings, Wali shared details of his past romantic relationships with the pupil, including an email where he stated, "I used to be obsessed with certain someone for such a long time...until one day I woke up and chose violence and deleted her."
He also used informal language with the student, referring to her as "bro," "mate," and "wasteman," and assured her, "U can come to me with the same problem 1,000 times." Wali stated in his evidence that he was unaware of the requirement for teaching staff not to email pupils outside of school hours, despite acknowledging receiving emails from students as late as 10 p.m. or 11 p.m.
The TRA concluded that prohibiting Wali from teaching would not be proportionate or in the public interest, citing his "positive contribution" to the profession. The panel's decision was influenced by his demonstrated insight, remedial steps taken, low risk of repetition, absence of sexual conduct findings, and lack of evidence of actual harm to the student.