Ombudsman calls for clearer guidelines on political visits to schools

The Ombudsman has called for clearer guidelines over visits to schools by elected officials and prospective candidates, following a complaint filed by the independent candidate Arnold Cassola.

Cassola said photos circulated by Labour candidate Thomas Bajada on Facebook on a primary school visit in Gozo alleged “a partisan attitude” by the education authorities.

The education ministry said that since 2022, clear guidelines were in place for such visits, and that school premises can also be rented to third parties if there is nothing that disrupts operations.

But it turns out that the head of school in question was not aware of these guidelines.

Ombudsman Joseph Zammit McKeon said it was “of paramount importance for the rule of law that any directives on such a delicate isue should be accessible to heads and assistant heads of schools, as well as to the general public, and that these shoud be clear, intelligible and predictable in outcome.”

He also said that the Education Division had to consider why party-political activities held in the Kirkop secondary and the Qawra primary had been held when these events do not befit and educational establishment.

He said a reading of the ministry circular to schools states that visits to schools by the politically elected or prospective candidates can only take place “exclusively if the activity related to the national curriculum”. But no reference is made on even-handed treatment of requests in a bid to avoid discriminatory requests.

The Gozo school in question said that, on its part, a staff member knew Thomas Bajada had worked with the EU institutions in Brussels and that by inviting him, could advise on how to tap EU Funds for an infrastructural project.

The head of school claimed he was unaware that Bajada was a prospective political candidate, and that no children were addressed or any lesson disrupted in the courseof the visit.