Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698135947587.pdf (Malta)
L-ERBATAX-IL LEĠIŻLATURA P.L.

1752 Dokument imqiegħed fuq il-Mejda tal-Kamra tad-Deputati fis-Seduta Numru 121 tal-15 ta’ Mejju 2023 mill-Ispeaker, l-Onor.

Anġlu Farrugia.
___________________________ Raymond Scicluna Skrivan tal-Kamra MALTA ' I OMBUDSMAN Kaz Nru CEDUC-22-2982 11 ta' Mejju 2023 L-On or Dott Angelo Farrugia Speaker Kamra tad-Deputati Parlament ta' Malta Pj azza Helsien Il-Belt Valletta VLT 1111 Onorevoli Speaker Fit-termini tal-Artikolu 22( 4) tal-Att dwar !-Ombudsman qeghdin nibghatu kopja tal-Opinjoni Finali, flimkien rna' dan ir-resume tal-kaz u korrispondenza ohra relevanti, biex jingiebu ghall-attenzjoni tal-Kumitat Permanenti dwar ix-Xoghol tal-Kamra u biex jitpoggew fuq il-mejda tal-Kamra ghall-attenzjoni tal-Membri tal-Kann·a tad-Deputati.
Dan ir-Rapport sar wara investigazzjoni kondotta dwar 1-ilment migjub mis-Sinjuri Duncan Sant u Ray Zammit.

Resume Il-persuni hawn fuq imsemmija huma ghalliema post sekondarji fi skola tal Knisja, izda 1-ilment taghhom hu intimament marbut rna', u naxxenti minn, prassi adoperata mid-Dipartiment tal-Edukazzjoni, kif mfisser fil-paragrafu 7 tal imsemmija Opinjoni Finali.
Il-Kummissarju ghall-Edukazzjoni, wara ezami akkurat tal-fatti u l-iter tat tibdiliet matul iz-zmien fir-rekwiziti biex wiehed ikollu !-warrant ta' ghalliem, wasal ghall-konkluzjoni li 1-prassi msemmija hija ingusta, kwazi oppressiva (ara paragrafu 11) u ghamel zewg rakkomandazzjonijiet li jidhru fil-paragrafu 12.
Office of the Om budsman I 11, St Paul Street, Val letta VL T 1210, Malta Phone: +356 2248 32 10 I Email: office@ombudsman.org.mt www.ombud,moo.ocg.mt ~ .. ' Fit-28 ta' Marzu 2023 !-Ombudsman u 1-Kummissarju ghall-Edukazzjoni kitbu lill-Onorevoli Prim Ministru fit-termini u ghall-fini u effetti tal-Artikoli 17C (1 ) u 22 (4) tal-Kap.

385.

Billi sal-lum ir-rakkomandazzjonijiet maghmula ghadhom rna gewx accettati, qed nipprezentawlek dan ir-rapport ghall-konsiderazzjoni tal-Kamra tad Deputati.
Insellu ghalik Joseph Zammit McKeon Ombudsman Dokumenti annessi: ~AL-n~o---~' Kummissarju ghall-Edukazzjoni Opinjoni Finali - 2 ta' Frar 2023 Ittra lill-Prim Ministru- 28 ta' Marzu 2023 Office of the Ombudsman 11, St Pa ul Street, Valletta VLT 1210, Malta Phone: +356 2248 3210 Email: office@ombudsman.org.m t d q .· '• Case No CEDUC-22-2982 28 March 2023 The Honourable Prime Minister Office of the Prime Minister Auberge de Castille Castille Place Valletta Honourable Prime Minister In terms of Article 17C and 22( 4) of the Ombudsman Act (Cap.
385) we draw your attention to the case of non-compliance in connection with the Final Opinion delivered by this Office on 2nd February 2023 regarding a complaint by two sixth form teachers at De La Salle College.

The complaint refers to the unjust situation resulting from the pegging of calls for teachers in private and church schools with those issued by the Ministry for Education, as explained in the Final Opinion (copy attached).

In spite of a request in terms of Article 22(4) of Cap.
385 in the communication of the 2nd February 2023 and of a reminder on the 3rd March 2023, this Office has to date received no response.

In view of the above, we are bringing the matter to your attention in the hope that it can be settled through your good offices, thus obviating the need of ulterior steps in terms of the aforementioned Article 22( 4).
Commissioner for Education Encl: Final Opinion- 2nd February 2023 Final Opinion Letter- 2nd February 2023 Reminder - 3rd March 2023 Copy: The Principal Permanent Secretary Office of the Prime Minister Auberge de Castille Valletta '• Report on Case No CEDUC-22-2982 The complaint 1.

The complaint was filed with the Ombudsman's Office on 8th June 2022.

It was filed by two sixth form teachers at De La Salle College.
The complaint is, notwithstanding the church school where the complainants exercise their profession, within the competence of the undersigned Commissioner for Education in +e .... ~s o+ +"h a n~t-.,,,.
:~Sm'"'n A"+ 'A .... +~" 1 es 1 2 1 1 \ ,..,~d 1 3' 1 )) s1'nca tt-.e .l L.l.lv \....J'.l.l.LULl\...L .l L..lv.l .l.l.l.l J..l CU vL \ \.l..J CLI..L .L.l .J.. .J.. \..- .L \.I.. L very substance of the compliant stems from, and is intimately linked to , calls issued by the Education Department for the posts of "Teacher (Secondary /Post-Secondary Education)" ln Government schools.

2.

One of the complainants teaches philosophy at the sixth form of the school abovementioned.
He holds both a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and an M.A.

in the same subject , and has been teaching the subject for close to nine years at De La Salle.

He also previously lectured (part-time) at both MCAST and at the G. F .

Abela Junior College.

The other complainant- who holds a B .Sc.

(Hons) in Natural Science (Physics and Earth S ciences) and an M. Sc.
in Earth Science- teaches physics at the same sixth form and has been doing so since 2008; he has also tau gh t at MCAST and is a regular visiting lecturer within the Faculties of Science, of Engineering and of Education at the University of Malta .

3.
Their complaint is, in substance, the following: although they have been in full-time teaching (at a church school) for a number of years, due to an anomaly in the employment/ r ecruiting system in Government schools of teachers for secondary and higher level, their salary (paid for by the Government through the Education Division at the Ministry responsible for Education in line with Malta's Agreement with the Holy See) remains pegged at the level of supply graduate teacher, even though they are in fact performing duties as regular teachers.
4.

The complaint was communicated to the Ministry of Education on 23rd June 2022.

The Ministry preferred their views on the matter by letter dated 17th August 2022, communicated to this Office on the 22nd of the month.

The investigation and the findings 5.

The Commissioner conferred with vanous persons 1n the education sector.
He was also provided by the complainants with the correspondence they had had with various ministers responsible for education in Malta these last five years plus, all of whom either acknowledged that there was a problem or an anomaly in their regard and in regard to teachers in analogous situations as theirs and promised to look into the matter, or referre d the matter to the Perma nent Secretary for the time b eing in office (presumably for some form of remedial action to be taken).
Nevertheless, nothing changed over these years.

2 6.

The timeline of events leading to the present anomalous situation is , briefly, the following.

Prior to 2008, a person was automatically eligible for a permanent teacher's warrant if in possession of a Masters Degree or a Doctorate (like the undersigned Commissioner) obtained at any time and in any subject.
Subsequently, but without prejudice to permanent teacher warrants already obtained or which could be obtained prior to the amendment, the law was changed: from 2008 onward a full teaching (pedagogical) degree was required for a permanent teacher's warrant.

The complainants do not have this pedagogical component as part of their B.A.

(B.Sc.)

or Masters.

However- and this is the crux of the issue- a permanent teaching warrant is by law only required to teach at compulsory education level.
For teaching at sixth form level in any school, or at the Junior College or at MCAST or at the University, no teaching warrant whatsoever is required.

7.

The obvious question, therefore, is: why are the complainants still considered and paid as "supply" graduate teachers and not as regular graduate teachers?

The answer is that calls for teachers in all schools - private and church - must reflect the Ministry for Education's calls.
When issuing its call for the Higher Secondary Sixth Form - the Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School and the Gozo Sixth form- Government requires that the applicants be in possession of a permanent teaching warrant.

The reason for this is simply one of convenience, namely so that the Education Division can have a pool of teachers it can move around from 3 .· :::,ccondary to post-secondary places and vice-versa as may from time to time be required.
This was confirmed in the Permanent Secretary's communication of the 17th August 2022: "The call for entry into both grades [regular teachers - supply teachers] is regulated by the sectoral agreement between the Government and the Malta Union of Teachers.

The call for teachers or supply teachers for subjects that are taught in secondary and post-secondary schools denotes this (these are entitled e.g.

"Call for the Post of Teacher (Secondary /Post-Secondary)") and does not make a distinction.
Persons employed may be required to teach in a secondary or in a post-secondary according to vacancies.

Calls for subjects which are only taught at post secondary level have identical requirements."

8.
8.

It is patently obvious that that the amendment or change in the law which was originally intended to safeguard pedagogical standards in "compulsory'' education is being used as a tool by the Education Division of the Ministry in question to ensure the availability of a pool of teachers which, like pawns on a chessboard, can be moved as the Division pleases or requires.

9.
9.

In the Commissioner's view the current practice of having a "combined" call for teachers for both secondary and post secondary levels, and requiring a permanent teaching warrant for both (when at law teaching in a non-compulsory education stage does not require such a warrant) is abusive.
It creates an unfair disadvantage, particularly when the subject to be taught is not one that is offered at secondary j compulsory level (such as philosophy, psychology, marketing or sociology) as well as an unlevel playing field between different institutions (those which have to follow the Ministry's calls for applications, on the one hand, and those, like the Junior College, which do not) and their ability to attract and retain staff.

4 10.
4 10.

The Commissioner 1s, of course, mindful of sectoral agreements.

It is clear that if all parties really want and are willing to rectify this anomaly and injustice, the possibility is there.

Reference is made to Clause 22.1 of the Collective Agreement between the Government and the Malta Union of Teachers of 21 st December 2017 (reflected in clause 22.1 of the Collective agreement between the Church Authorities and the M.U.T.

of 7th August 20 18).

Conclusion and recommendations 11.


For all the above reasons, the Commissioner finds the complaint lodged by the two teachers, in so far as directed at the Ministry responsible for Education, to be fully substantiated and justified in terms of (a) Article 22(1)(b) of the Ombudsman Act unjust practice (verging on the oppressive with the passage of time) - and (b) Article 22(2) - discretionary power exercised for an Improper purpose.

12.
12.

Although this Office is competent to make, can and in a number of cases has made recommendations amounting to proposals for amending a particular law - in the instant case, an amendment to Article 24 of Cap.

327 to cater for the specific situation in which the complainants, and no doubt others, find themselves - a more appropriate and practical recommendation would be to change practice and to rectify the injustice forthwith.
The Commissioner, therefore, recommends (1) that calls for applications for the post of teacher in post -secondary education 5 t.t.e.
post-compulsory education stage) should be separate and distinct from calls for the post of teacher in secondary education, and should reflect the current law and therefore not require a permanent teaching warrant; and (2) that with immediate effect the money transferred by the Education Division within the Ministry to the school employing the complainants should be the salary commensurate to that of a regular teacher and not of a supply teacher.

Commissioner for Education 2 February 2023 6