The Higher School of Dramatic Arts of the Balearic Islands (Esadib) has temporarily removed its head of studies from his duties after anonymous complaints appeared on social networks accusing him of “obnoxious practices” with female students, the center said in a letter addressed to the educational community.
Although this dismissal does not mean his final expulsion, the school has opened an internal procedure to clarify the facts. The administration indicates in the letter that, during the investigation, it has temporarily withdrawn the salary bonus for the teacher and member of the management team, according to Europa Press.
The complaints began just a few days ago from an Instagram account — @testimoniosartesescenicas —, where an anonymous account stated that the professor had been “abusing his power and authority and that of his students for about ten years” and having sexual relations with them.
“It’s all under the pretext of secrecy, obviously. The problem is that the secret is really an open secret. Everyone knows and no one does anything. Recently, more institutional power has come to him. They make him promise behind closed doors that he will not do it again,” explains the anonymous complainant.
According to the posted message, the teacher was going to continue to “harass many students” on social media.
In recent years, the school has witnessed similar incidents. In 2021, a total of 56 students filed a formal complaint regarding “inappropriate and inappropriate” behavior by a teacher with “female students.”
Among the alleged behaviors exhibited by the teacher, the affected students mentioned the constant sending of friend requests on Instagram, the suggestion of “teaching” outside school hours, his “scary looks”, his physical approaches “especially to the upper body” or comments such as “what a short skirt”, “you have become so beautiful today” or “you have a very delicate appearance”, generating states of “discomfort”, “fear” and “guilt”.
The complaint prompted the Instituto Baler de la Dona (IB-Dona) to prepare a report in which it stated that this type of behavior results in “psychological and emotional consequences that limit academic achievement and hinder students’ participation in educational programmes, constituting a form of discrimination towards people who are subjected to harassment.” Subsequently, the Board of Trustees of the Fundació per als Estudis Superiors de Música i Arts Escèniques de les Illes Balears (Fesmae), affiliated with the government, approved the dismissal of the teacher.
In March 2023, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJIB) annulled the dismissal, claiming that he had not been given the opportunity to defend himself before his dismissal was initiated or during the trial against his dismissal.
A year later, the Supreme Court amended its jurisprudence on disciplinary dismissal, resulting in the case being reopened. However, last July, the highest judicial body in the Balearic Islands once again deemed the dismissal unacceptable for the same reasons it had previously claimed.