MEP candidate denounces teacher’s degrading treatment

Nationalist MEP candidate Helga Ellul said she wants the education ministry to investigate an alleged incident at the Zabbar primary school, where a teacher made a child kneel down and allowed him to be mocked by pupils.

While Ellul says she verified the “rumours” communicated to her by parents, in her statement she appeared to be unaware of the victim’s gender, pointing out that the ministry should “should make sure the student involved gets all the necessary help for any psychological implications s/he may have suffered due to the incident.”

Ellul said she was contacted by parents whose children attend the school, who claimed a teacher had punished a child by making him kneel down in a yard, after which some other students were asked to look at the student and laugh at him. “On further investigating the matter, unfortunately I have found these rumours to be true,” Ellul said in a statement.

The MEP said she is asking education minister Evarist Bartolo to take immediate action and make sure that a proper investigation is held. “This should not happen anywhere, let alone in a school, Ellul said.

“I also express my solidarity to the student involved. It is rather unfortunate that the teaching profession is brought to shame by such occurrences, and express my gratitude for the work educators perform within our educational system.”