Ramesh Mal

Introduction

Ramesh Mal was a science instructor at Heath Park School in Wolverhampton. In February 2026 a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency found that, across incidents spanning 2015 to 2022, he had assaulted one woman in her home, been convicted of common assault and of breaching a non-molestation order, and strangled another woman during a pub altercation, leaving her briefly unconscious. He admitted the two convictions but denied the remaining allegations; the panel found the 2020 assault and the 2022 strangulation proved on the balance of probabilities, while four other allegations were not proved. It recommended prohibition, and the Secretary of State’s decision maker barred him from teaching indefinitely with a five-year review period.

Background Information

Mal joined Heath Park School in 2002 and had worked there as an instructor of science since 2010. On 13 November 2015 he assaulted Person A, a private individual whose identity is redacted in the published decision, and was convicted at Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court on 23 November 2015. He had also previously received a warning from the regulator’s predecessor body, something the later panel treated as evidence he knew of regulatory concerns. The 2020 arrest was referred to the TRA on 18 May 2020, and the notice of proceedings issued on 26 September 2024. The panel sat from 11 to 14 November 2025 and reconvened on 2 February 2026.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Contested, convictions case. Mal admitted the 2015 common assault and 2023 non-molestation convictions but denied allegations 3 to 8. The panel found the May 2020 assault and the November 2022 strangulation proved on the balance of probabilities; allegations 4 to 7 were not proved and were put entirely from the Secretary of State’s mind.

The panel heard that on 9 May 2020 Mal was arrested for common assault of Person A. The police report recorded that he leant onto Person A as she sat on a sofa, knocking her to its end, grabbed her hair and placed his knee into her chest; Person A described him as intoxicated and angry, and the report noted he appeared intoxicated and was resistant during arrest. Person A’s account was not challenged in cross-examination. Although the police did not prosecute, the panel held that this was not determinative because the regulatory standard of proof differs from the criminal one, and found the assault proved.

The panel also found proved that on or around 5 November 2022 Mal used excessive force against Person B. After drinking at a pub, Person B decided to leave; Mal followed her and tried to make her stay, grabbed her around the waist, and then grabbed her around the throat, strangling her and causing her to lose consciousness briefly. The allegation was hearsay, but the panel noted corroboration from contemporaneous police notes, records of her injuries, and an officer who described Mal as smelling of alcohol and resisting arrest. It also observed similarities with the earlier incidents, indicating a pattern of violent behaviour.

Four allegations failed. The panel found Mal had in fact reported his May 2020 arrest to headteacher Witness B “within days”, and the allegation of failing to notify his employer did not specify timeliness. The 2021 lesson allegations, that he kept a pupil outside his classroom and grabbed her arms, rested on hearsay, and managing late arrivals was held acceptable. The derivative allegations of breaching a management instruction and of dishonesty fell with them. The Secretary of State put these matters entirely from her mind.

In mitigation Mal asserted that the accounts of Person A and Person B were fabricated and did not accept he had done anything violent. The panel considered his lack of insight and failure to accept responsibility a matter of concern, found a risk of repetition remained, and noted his earlier warning. His more recent behaviour, it said, formed part of a pattern: “if this did not constitute a pattern of concerning conduct, it was difficult to see what would.” He told the panel he had reduced his alcohol consumption, but it was not satisfied he had developed any meaningful insight.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Mal’s 2015 conviction for assault of Person A by beating, to which he pleaded guilty, brought a community order, a restraining order, a £130 fine, a £60 victim surcharge and £105 costs. In February 2023 he was convicted of breaching the non-molestation order by attending Person A’s property unarranged on 28 August 2022, conduct Person A discovered through security camera footage and reported because she believed he was intoxicated; he received a restraining order and a £600 fine. Neither conviction led to imprisonment. The matter reached the TRA by referral in May 2020. At the hearing, which sat in public save for private portions, Mal appeared in person, represented by Mark Rose of the NASUWT.

Current Status

The panel recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and a two-year review period. The decision maker, David Oatley, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, decided on 12 February 2026 to lengthen the review period to five years, citing “the serious nature of the offences… and his repeated violent behaviour, the lack of insight and the consequent risk of repetition, and the potential damage to the public’s perception of the teaching profession”. Mal is prohibited from teaching indefinitely, in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. He may apply for the order to be set aside, but not until 19 February 2031. He has 28 days to appeal to the High Court. The outcome was published on 27 February 2026.

Impact on Their Career/Life

A teaching career of more than two decades at a single school is closed off: Mal cannot work as a teacher in England while the prohibition stands. Any return requires a successful application to have the order set aside, which he cannot make before 19 February 2031, and even then is not automatic; a fresh panel would decide whether the prohibition should be lifted. The panel’s finding that his conduct formed a pattern of violent behaviour, and its doubts about his insight, will follow him into any future regulatory review.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Ramesh Mal,” published 27 February 2026 — source