Transfer of Learning Support Assistants

Education Minister Dolores Cristina told Labour MP Evarist Bartolo that 11 learning support assistants had been transferred from the original school at which they had started the scholastic year.

Four of the transfers were temporary, mainly assistants who return to their duties after maternity or parental leave and who do not have any students under their care because of their absence from work.

The other seven had requested the transfer themselves on humanitarian grounds either because they became redundant or they had no students under their care.

Answering another question by Mr Bartolo, the minister said that there were 1,283 learning support assistants in schools in Malta and Gozo. Of these, 684 cared for students who needed one-to-one care. The other 599 had two or three students under their care.

In another question, Mr Bartolo asked when was it expected that the needs of 756 children needing support would be met. The minister said that the number of assistants needed could not be pre-determined because not all applications for an assistant are met by the Istatementing Board and also because there are four different kinds of assistance offered: full time one-to-one, full time, shared same class, u shared.

The Directorate, she said, was employing LSAs from a list of new candidates after an interview by a board.