Sparks fly between Education Minister, Opposition leader over stipends

Education Minister Evarist Bartolo will be suing the PN media for libel and challenged Opposition leader Simon Busuttil to repeat outside parliament that he [Bartolo] had ordered the removal of stipends for students at the Higher Secondary sitting for 'O' level studies.

"I challenge Dr Busuttil to repeat his accusation outside parliament so I'll be able to slap him with a libel... just like I'll be slapping the Nationalist media," Bartolo said.

Bartolo this evening tabled a list of consultant employed by the Education Ministry.  The ministry has retained a number of consultants who served under the Nationalist administration but has also engaged new ones.

Questioned about the ministry's investigation into how a circular had been issued without "the minister's knowledge", which ordered the removal of stipends for sixth form 'O' level students, Bartolo said the investigation report will be published and available for public scrutiny.

At one point, Bartolo accused Busuttil of "being late as usual" after the leader of the Opposition asked about the ministry's investigation. "The investigation has already been concluded," the minister said.

Busuttil however was quick to quip that during Bartolo's previous tenure as minister, he had "been caught meddling with the stipends system".

This prompted a harsh reply by Bartolo who said that "as far as he knew he was speaking in Maltese and not in Chinese" and that the opposition should wait for what he assured was a fair and just report which his ministry conducted.

"Stipends will not be reduced... contrary to what former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi did when he effectively sliced the amount each student received," Bartolo said.