This reminds me of Suits. I kinda forgot most of the details, but basically it's about a young lawyer who illegally takes the lawyer test for others. One day he gets an interview with one of the top lawyers in the country(?), who is impressed by the guy's knowledge in law. So eventually, the famous lawyer decides to hire this guy and keep his fraud a secret. And together they solve a lot of cases.

For me personally, I haven't encountered a lot of teachers who reaaaally strive to inspire their students, which I think is one of the most important aspect when you're working with the future generation. There are too many occupation that focuses too much on money and end up turning a blind eye on what's right. Look at how bullying/racism/assault still exists at some school. What good is a teacher with credentials if they can't stop that kind of attitude? A teacher who can impose good conduct in these kids is what we need.

Plus, if only the principal knows, what's stopping the teacher from actually pursuing the right credentials needed in the meantime? Yeah, according to law it may be wrong, so they can correct that wrong.

Also, I've had a teacher with perfect credentials, and she said something to me which basically put me down, along the lines of "you have no talent at all." And I remember it until now, which has become the source of some of my insecurities. Sorry to say, but if I had kids, I wouldnt want them to meet a teacher like that. I'd rather they be taught by someone who really cares for their future and sees the potential, even if they are not "lawfully qualified."

OR you know, if the principal has to act by law and fir the teacher, the teacher could get the credentials and reapply again. XD

I think it wouldn't matter, what's matter is what he/she has been doing so far, they didn't cause any damage/ disadvantage for the school as you stated and even in a way kind of upgrade (?) the school name and make it look even better for people who've seen it as failure before. If the principal close one eyes, it will just be a win-win situations for both parties. Maybe it still wrong but definitely a win-win, nobody got hurt, "lies for the greater good".

/shrug/ well.. that's what i think...

This will be my answer~

Since the person who know about the forgery is only the principal, the best way the principal can do is to talk about the forgery with the teacher to know the reason why the best teacher that the school has ever had had done something like that~

Whatever reason the teacher had to make the teacher did the forgery, the principal shouldn't forget about the good things that the teacher had done to the school, even though maybe the teacher had done those good things because the teacher is already feeling guilty about the forgery that the teacher had done~ But! As the principal of the school, the principal also shouldn't keep the forgery as a secret~

Keeping secret is not the best way to do, it will make the principal's name and image will not be good if other people finding out about that, it will be the same with the name and image of the teacher who known to be the best teacher~

So, the principal and the teacher have to work together to find the best way to solve the forgery problem, moreover if the teacher has already been feeling guilty about the forgery. For example, the principal can help the teacher to get the official credentials~ but again! If there is actually certain punishment for people who do forgering, the principal has to do that punishment first or ease the punishment because once again, the principal shouldn't forget about the good things that the teacher had done to the school~

I also think if the principal can't handle this matter alone, other school residents (other teachers and students) will definitely help to find good solutions to solve this matter~ and I'm definitely sure that most of the school residents will be on the teacher's side to keep the teacher staying in the school because they know what their best teacher had done to their school~~

That's my answer~ ♡v^-^v♡

I'm a bit conflicted, bcs philosophy is based on philein and Sophia, meaning love for wisdom, love for the truth (you know all that etymology stuffs lol). But ethics is also a big part of philosophy, meaning morality is also a part of it. Did your teacher instruct you to use a certain time of approach? Bcs there are certain branches and approaches to philosophical thinking, right? Usually I just lean more into what my teacher is currently teaching, so if she's teaching more about the theme of moral ethics, what's right and wrong, then I'll choose to address the forged papers since regardless of everything, it's wrong to fake an important document, and like how dare he aspires to teach children while he's not even qualified and trick everybody in the entire school, wrong is still wrong and the wrong decision has its consequences. I'm leaning more onto that bcs it's the RIGHT thing to do, as per your question. Perhaps firing the teacher might serve some consequences as well, but it's not like there aren't any more qualified teachers out there, bcs bottom line, the right thing has to be done, right? Two wrongs don't make a right.

Since Moony_Kat did a phenomenal job explaining the reasons, Imma be lazy and just vote. I vote the principal keeps the teacher (and if possible, have the teacher attend night or online classes to build real credentials xD)

Well, if we are to base the answer solely on moral conduct, then the principal should fire the teacher for forging papers which is a legal crime for which, depending on its gravity, one can be prosecuted. However, all the empirical proofs show that the teacher was actually an asset to the school/ area, thus the question is of a moral character. In my opinion, there is no right or wrong choice with this one because 1. if the principal chooses to keep it a secret, then the teacher would continue to be an asset to the school, but if discovered, both could lose their jobs at a given moment in time and 2. if he fires the teacher he would endanger the system from which the teacher is already part of, thus leading to possible lower grades and overall school performance. So, the problem is if the principal chooses to put the grater good (students in this case) above himself.
I don't know if this answers the question though^^'