Teacher finally fired after being absent from work for 20 years

A professor finally got sacked after skipping work for 20 years, relying on holidays, sick leaves, personal leaves, and maternity leaves, among other absence requests.

According to BBC, Cinzia Paolina De Lio managed to avoid work for two decades in 24 years in various schools near Venice. The education ministry said that she was “completely absent” during the first 10 years of her stint, while her leaves in the next decade were connected to sickness as well as personal and family reasons. 

“She never had continuity. She came for a few days and then took long periods of sick leave,” one of her students told Repubblica newspaper. “We changed several substitute teachers or, sometimes, they made us leave school early.” 

De Lio initially got fired from her job in 2017. The matter was taken to the court, which said her leaves showed a “permanent and absolute ineptitude.” 

The history and philosophy teacher, who pointed out “freedom of teaching” in her defense, was reinstated a year later after a ruling. The education ministry, however, “appealed against the decision and it was reversed by the Supreme Court of Cassation last week,” BBC reported.

Following the high court’s decision, De Lio told local media that she will “reconstruct the truth” and stressed she has evidence that could prove she was not absent from work for 20 years. 

"I will reconstruct the truth of the facts of this absolutely unique and surreal story," she said.