Minister says teachers’ council ‘obliged’ to investigate case

Education minister Evarist Bartolo has said that the Council for the Teaching Profession, the body tasked with investigating complaints of misconduct by teachers, was “obliged” to investigate the employment of Erin Tanti, 23, as a supply teacher at St Michael’s Foundation and any alleged breach of ethics over his relationship with a 15-year-old pupil.

Lisa Maria Zahra, daughter of the entrepreneur Tony Zahra, lost her life in a tragic accident on Wednesday, 19 March at the foot of Dingli cliffs. Her family says she had been missing since Tuesday, and that she was accompanied to Dingli by Tanti in his car.

Tanti, found injured in the same location, is in critical condition at Mater Dei’s intensive therapy unit.

“Upon the conclusion of the police investigation, the Council for the Teaching Profession not only has the right but also the duty to investigate any complaint of gross negligence or breach of ethics,” Evarist Bartolo told MaltaToday on the case.

Tanti, who was pursuing a theatre studies degree at the University of Malta until 2013, had been a drama tutor for the Masquerade theatre company since 2012, according to his Facebook status.

But he recently was drafted in as a supply teacher at the St Michael’s Foundation, a private school, having worked there for the past three months.

Although questions have been raised about the school’s vetting of the unqualified teacher, Tanti had been cleared by the authorities for teaching duties.

MaltaToday has established that Tanti had passed a police check and was granted a temporary teacher’s warrant as a supply drama teacher.

Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said that it was the school’s responsibility to ensure that Tanti had a teacher’s warrant or to establish whether he was fit to teach.

Even Dr Mario Caruana, the chairman of the Council for the Teaching Profession, told MaltaToday that he was not ruling out “the possibility of an investigation” into Tanti and his employment at the school.

“The council is bound by law to investigate any complaints of negligence or breach of ethics by Tanti,” Caruana said, underlining however that any investigation at this point would be premature, as the council would have to wait until all police and judicial proceedings are finalised.

Since the extent of Tanti’s and Zahra’s friendship is unclear, and whether it was confined outside school limits, it is unclear as to whether the Council will be able to sanction Tanti over any ethical breach or misconduct as a teacher.

“We cannot rule out anything. If we receive a complaint, then we are bound by law to investigate.

“Upon substantiating the evidence and completing the investigation, we recommend the finds to the minister of education.

“Any complaints of negligence or breach of ethics would be investigated but these are strictly confidential,” he said.

The teachers’ code of ethics, established by the Council for the Teaching Profession, says teachers are duty-bound and responsible to maintain a professional distance while in school and out of school.

It also calls on teachers to avoid any inappropriate communication and relationships with students. Moreover, teachers are bound to ‘have regard to the safety of students under their responsibility’.

MaltaToday also contacted St Michael’s Foundation, but a representative of the private school refused to comment. “We would not like to comment, thanks.”

A police spokesperson said that a magisterial inquiry is underway and the police are not in a position to divulge information.

The funeral of 15-year-old Lisa Maria Zahra, which was expected to be held Saturday in Valletta, was postponed on a magistrate’s order.

The court decided to postpone the funeral to ensure that all investigations are concluded before her burial.

The Zahra family claims that Tanti drove her to Dingli, and have been emphatic about the teacher’s negligence of his duties towards the vulnerable teenager.

“The cruel reality is that Lisa Maria Zahra was a vulnerable minor at the age of 15, and Erin Tanti is a 23-year-old teacher with the relevant responsibilities that come with this role,” the family said.

“The tragic situation that developed after Tanti drove Lisa Maria to Dingli is one which is still subject to ongoing police investigations and prudence in any commentary, as well as the family’s privacy in these difficult moments, should be respected at this time.”

Tanti was at the time performing in a Masquerade play ‘Festen’, based on the acclaimed film by Thomas Vinterberg.