'Sick leave' teachers suspended for three days

s.seychell

Feb 11th 2010, 17:08

Kemm hawn qaddisin hawn Malta!

Miriam Ellul

Feb 10th 2010, 14:13

I am not trying to justify their deed ... and I know it's definately not a right thing to do ... but what about the other hundreds of govt employees who do the same?? I never read a similar news item but I'm sure that it happened more than once and not only from teachers!

A real case of 'Min qatt m'ghamel dnub jitfa' l-ewwel gebla'.

We rarely see other things on our media ... be it on TV or Local Paper. It's always negative!
I am sure it's not always like that and I know that apart from the yearly winner of 'Il-Haddiem tas-Sena' there are others who are dedicated to their work and never mentioned or appreciated.
Let's be more positive please!!

Again I don't agree with such irresponsible behaviour.

Edward Zammit

Feb 9th 2010, 18:38

Doctors are not above the law I can assure you. Or rather it's not a question of profession, but of who you know. So please stop spouting inane comments against doctors, which reek of underlying grudges. The doctor or doctors (for all we know they may have the same doctor), may simply be guilty of believing their patient's excuses of having being sick on that particular day. Still wrong, but hardly merits removing their warrant.

John Dimech

Feb 8th 2010, 22:43

Gozo is overflowing with money - much of it obtained from Maltese tourism. But we continue to spend our money so that they can abandon their duties and go shopping withe the money we spend there. Here is an example of how tourists are treated in Gozo: http://malta-exposed.blogspot.com/2010/02/biting-hand-that-feeds-them.html

Carmel Saliba

Feb 8th 2010, 17:17

As far as I am informed these three teachers missed one school day only - Friday. Monday and Tuesday were holidays. Too much ado about nothing. In reality Only These Three Teachers Abused. If those who protested against these three teachers are 100% perfect in their place of work, then I may say We Live in a Perfect Malta. Remember Christ said those who have no faults can throw the first stone to the sinner. But everybody turn back and left.

J Bajada

Feb 8th 2010, 16:23

@ R Gatt no it doesn't make all ok (to put it in your own words), but i think its important to give that info because many of you here were thinking that students (lessons lost) & other teachers (getting replacements) were also going to suffer because of these teachers' suspensions, when in reality it has not been the case. that's all i wanted to say!

Joe Genovese

Feb 8th 2010, 15:39

In a population less than the bigger Island's largest city, how many doctors were involved? 3? If so, what is that figure as a percentage (of doctors)? Close to Gozo's VAT figures once revealed in Parliament? Does the Medical Council have a say in this?

joe falzon

Feb 8th 2010, 14:30

the teachers concerned were punished according to the books. now if you really want them punished have them read these comments which are 90% biased rubbish! (Oh why am i punishing myself!)......Whose next on your hate list? doctors of course! You've already condemned the doctor concerned without having had the democratic decency to hear his/her side of the story ---- typical of bigots! Punish first, ask questions later!....and for your info, mr. Borg, wages were witheld, so shut up about Gozitans!

Joe Fenech

Feb 8th 2010, 14:12

3 days suspension for a sick leave fraud

Scot free when you fraud the VAT department MILLIONS of Euro !!!!!

ONLY IN MALTA!!!

daniel Borg

Feb 8th 2010, 13:16

Is that a real punishment? 3 days off work for not going to work in an illegal manner? they should be made to work for no wage or pay a fine, thats a real punishment!

What about the Doctors who issued the certificates? Taking a sickie to stay relaxed at home is accepted worldwide, but to go on a shopping holiday is pushing it!

But oh i forgot they are from Gozo, it seems there things work differently, like the scandalous amount of people who are boarded out on social welfare, and after a report by the national statistics office, there has been no feedback or investigations by no government dept. or any other authority. Things are reported on the news on this island, people discuss them on this website and editorials in a constructive manner and no Government Authority ever comments or lifts his finger on the matters at hand! The sound of silence...

DVella

Feb 8th 2010, 12:59

Oh . . . and whilst we're on the subject . . . what disciplinary procedures are the Doctors that issued the certificates going to face?? Hardly a good example of proper professional integrity on would have thought!!!!!

DVella

Feb 8th 2010, 12:57

Three days . . . what a joke!!! Has the so-called 'disciplinary board' taken leave of its senses??? Did it have any worth mentioning in the first place?

This pathetic sort of approach is precisely why there is so much abuse of social benefits . . . it's practically an incentive for others to do the same . . . or worse!!!

Ray Woods

Feb 8th 2010, 12:20

Falsification of records is fraud and potentially a criminal offence. It warrants instant dismissal.

To not hold that line sets a precedent, and means that future cases will also be dealt with too leniently. The result wil be a continuing rise in absenteeism - paid for by the tax payers of Malta.

M.Caruana

Feb 8th 2010, 12:00

I would have given them one month of no pay not 3 days. It was still worth it for them.

In some cases this would have been dismissal even if a person reports sick because of a sick daughter or son.

Mark Galea

Feb 8th 2010, 10:42

It was really fun reading the entries from various people below. As they say, everybody likes discipline as long as s/he is not disciplined. Everybody likes seing others disciplined.

I suggest that these 3 should take a camera and stroll around the streets of gozo and malta, taking pictures of the people around, and sending them to their employers (including government). Maybe there will be much less people commenting below ... :)

R Gatt

Feb 8th 2010, 08:52

@ J Bajada - ah, so that makes all ok. right?

j. fenech

Feb 8th 2010, 07:25

I am a teacher and still think that this decision is stupid!! It is not fair on students, and on the other teachers working in the same school. How about sending replacements for those 3 days? And it's useless referring to the saying about throwing the first stone!! If anybody has false sick at least he stays at home not go on a shopping spree!! I pity teachers, who like myself even go sick to work!! But this case made me think, and i probably would find it easier to go shopping!! This is no punishment at all for these teachers. What about working without pay??? Now that would be something! I hope that if anything similar happens in Malta, the same rules will be followed!!

K. Camilleri

Feb 8th 2010, 00:47

Where is the MUT now...? Didn't it come out to defend the teachers now ?

Antoine Psaila

Feb 8th 2010, 00:22

Those employee who never reported sick when they weren't really sick throw the first stone! But in Malta teachers are always in the limelight and I don't know why all this hatred against teachers. When someone reports a fake sick we must do the same as was done against these teachers: report them on every type of media, treat it as a national issue and be sure that we will have hundreds of these type of stories every day!

J Micallef

Feb 7th 2010, 23:35

What about the doctor who issued their abusive sick certificates??!

The medical council should remove his/her warrant with immediate effect. This country has had enough of abusive medical certificates.

Joe Grech

Feb 7th 2010, 22:25

Honestly now: can anyone really keep thinking we have a responsible Minister for Education, a responsible Minister for Gozo (The Gozo Ministry led disciplinary proceedings) and a responsible Prime Minister after this ludicrously irresponsible disciplinarian (sic!) decision?
It is actions such as these that make the present administration look so fickle, unresponsive to citizens's justified concerns.
The worst thing is the hypocrisy: they make it out to look on the Media as if they are our children's champions! SHAME!

C Tanti

Feb 7th 2010, 20:22

Shouldn't these so-called teachers face other charges for trying to defraud the Social Services? And what about the doctors who issued these certificates - will they face any disciplinary charges?

M Caruana

Feb 7th 2010, 18:56

M'iniex ha nkun xi avukata jew xi haga, imma ghalliema bhal dawn haqqhom gimgha xoghol 'unpaid' ghal hafna ragunijiet varji: 1. Li hallew l-istudenti nieqsa mit-tahrig li suppost ghamlu dawn l-ghalliema, 2. Li forsi gidbu t-tabib li huma morda!!! 3. li dahku bis-shabhom stess l-ghalliema li gew jaqghu jqumu minnhom, imbasta marru jaghmlu xirja Londra. 4. Li ma tawx ezempju tajjeb lil xi studenti-ghalliema li sa jilhqu bhalhom.

Ara veru nemmen li hawn certu ghalliema ghal paga biss u min veru jkun dedikat jaqla' bis-sieq !!!!

joe scerri

Feb 7th 2010, 18:23

If these had been employed with a private company they would have been fired, but these are public employees paid from honest taxpayers money. Whether they are teachers or not is irrelevant.

joe portelli

Feb 7th 2010, 17:27

dont worry about it any more....remember what Epicurus said.......

J. Pace

Feb 7th 2010, 16:02

Good, so next time, take 4 days sick. On the first day just prepare the luggages and wait for the doctor. Then go to london the next day.

Irrisponsibility at its best. Teachers should be responsible for their pupils and should be dedicated to carry on with their profession. These three clearly are not dedicated, and this may alert other teachers to do the same.

And I should trust my children with these irrisponsible teachers. Welldone.

J. Mifsud

Feb 7th 2010, 15:39

The teachers' students were deprived from their lessons due the lack of respect and irresponsible behaviour of these supposed 'teachers'.

Now that they have been suspended for 3 days, who are worse off again?!?!?
Answer: Again: Their students......they'll have to be without their 'teachers' for another 3 days.

martin saliba

Feb 7th 2010, 15:26

@ Je Falzon. I am 52 years old. I was employed for about 30 years and in those 30 years i probably tok a maximum of 20 days sick leave and this is not just talk. I dare you to contact me (I have authorised timesofmalta.com to give you my details if you request them) as i can prove what i am saying. It is not the sick leave that bothers me but without implying to thre dr. in this case , you hear many stories of how people obtain certificates when they are nor really sick. If you remember that is why the Labour gov. in the seventies imposed a min of 3 days before being paid benifits because many " Kacaturi " were unfortunatley sick in the hunting seasons.

p.v. abela

Feb 7th 2010, 12:56

Just three days suspension with out pay!...So it was worth the risk. If these teachers did their shopping at Primark ion London it must have surely payed for their loss in salary.....Civil servants take note.

Christian Sciberras

Feb 7th 2010, 12:51

joe falzon - Don't know you, but the whole tree is rotting.
For instance, you mentioned that you work at that school.
Do tell us how the school in question is a state-of-art building, polished from ground up etc.
You can't since it's literally falling to pieces. I was unfortunate enough to have spent a couple of weeks in that school during certain private lessons when I couldn't but notice everything falling to pieces. No that I'm out, I can't but care less.
It's not my school, and they deserve what they got.

j micallef - Who cares about the media?! Same thing about the tax case, you have to make people work ("pay") for their damages not shout to the world what they did.

However, nice of you to remind us how the church decisions take over to that of a disciplinary board. (sarcasm)

G.Schembri

Feb 7th 2010, 12:43

@ S.Vella - If a patient visited his doctor or Thursday evening, the doctor would fill in Thursday's date both as the date of examination and the last day of work, and most probably Monday's date as the date of starting work again. If a patient is a good actor and knows certain symptoms well, especially if it is his recurrent ailment, he can easily fool his doctor.

I do not in any way condone what these three teachers did, but still I do believe that a written warning would have been a better punishment, which would have stopped them from behaving irrisponsibly again, since a second warning would automatically lose their job.
If the case mentioned by Mr Pace Gouder is not an exageration, and the said employee was not on probation. He should have gone to the labour office and complained for unfair dismisal, and let them take up the case woth his employer.

j micallef

Feb 7th 2010, 12:20

A wrongdoing is a wrongdoing and nothing changes this stark fact of life - but I feel amazed and dazed at the many hounds here baying for blood, when this unfortunate incedent is so insignificant and the result of a moment of common weakness by young bravado-seeking, inexperienced workers who were evidently not mature enough to assess the consequnces of their foolhardy actions, and who have learnt their lesson for life now. I spent more than 40 years as a teacher, and still remember many of my more 'mature' colleagues when I started my career reporting sick en masse during the peak of the hunting and trapping season. Are those preparing the guillotine in the public square for a ritual beheading of these three unfortunate (unfortunate because they were caught!) perpetrators aware of the rampant sick leave abuse in the public service and other state entities? Has compassion and christian forgiveness gone to the dogs? The wrongdoers have had their punishment not through their 3-day suspension, but by the modern day public exposure through blogging and the sensation-hungry media. Stop crucifying your fellow worker, and let pity and forgiveness stall your desire to ask for your pound of flesh!

Ray Spiteri

Feb 7th 2010, 11:38

WHAT IS OPINION OF MUT. I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY PRESS RELEASE CONDEMNING THIS IRRESPONSIBLE ACT ABUSE OF SICK LEAVE. SHAME ON YOU THREE TEACHERS. YOU DESERVED TOUGHER ACTION, EVEN REMOVAL OF TEACHERS WARRANT.

joe falzon

Feb 7th 2010, 10:47

ms. Micallef, i never condoned nor condemned the teachers' actions, i merely pointed out that the ministry's actions or failure to act is fanning public opinion against teachers. to get rid of a few rotten apples it seems many are ready to chop down the whole tree.

joe falzon

Feb 7th 2010, 10:42

Mr.M.Saliba
since you are so concerned about investigating sick leave --- tell us what your job is or was and we'll start to see how you performed in your area. and your argument about getting the union to get the 22,000 is stupid --- the question is the ministry is lying to YOU about ME and all teachers. That is not my opinion, that is a fact! so what do you say to the ministry's untruth and refusal to correct it? If you are not going to give a simple answer to it, then don't answer at all. and besides, your 'two wrongs don't make a right'? --- guess again: a negative plus a negative make a positive!

S Vella

Feb 7th 2010, 09:52

@ G schembri
If a doctor examins a patient and due to the symptoms described he issues a certificate starting the next day it is still incorrect. The first date on the certificate is "Data tal-ezami" which means examination date, the second box is "tajjeb ghax-xoghol" which means the date when in the opinion of the doctor may resume work and finally "data li hdimt l-ahhar"
the date when the patient ast worked.Responsable doctors do not issue certicates back dated because data tal-ezami is when he/she physically examins you and certify your sickness. One may fake symptoms, but a doctor who carries out a good check up can confirm if the patient is really sick or not.
I do not think Mr Pace Gouder's case is farfetched because at present some employers are finding the least excuse to expell employees due to the lack of work.
If many a man take sick leave around March and are again abusing, I again feel it is the irresponsability of the doctors who issue false certificates.
Even persons registering for work who cannot keep their appontment with registration abuse of sickness so that ETC will justify their absence and they get thier cheque.

R. Gauci

Feb 6th 2010, 23:59

Ma nafx ghala dan il-paniku kollu, dawn it-teachers just kienu morda bl-istress peress li m'ghandhomx holidays bizzejjed u marru sa Londra jistriehu bhala kura.

Apparti c-cajt, jidher li f'Ghawdex donnu hadd ma jaghli, tissemma li hemm qaddisa protettrici b'sahhitha hafna li tieqaf hafna maghhom.

K Cassar

Feb 6th 2010, 23:40

Name and Shame!!!

Claire Micallef

Feb 6th 2010, 22:16

Again @ J. Falzon....
If you have a grudge against the Ministry of Education, this whole issue has nothing to do with it.

As for the whole issue, no matter which way you look at it, now that it has hit the news,,, it has obviously irritated a lot of people. With all the holidays teachers have: summer, Christmas, mid-term, Carnival, Easter etc etc.... they had to steal sick leave to go on a shopping spree??? Whilst leaving their students without their lessons?

jcamilleri

Feb 6th 2010, 21:34

Alla jbierek kemm hawn imhallfin. U kemm hawn bojja.

Joe Farrugia

Feb 6th 2010, 21:20

This stupid decision is an incentive for all other teachers who wish to do the same.
In this case, the decision made their shopping trip deals much more worthed.

G.Schembri

Feb 6th 2010, 21:11

Although I condemn what these teachers did, I still think some bloggers are blowing it out of proportion.
Let's take the doctor's case, if a client goes to a doctor's clinic and describes cetain symptoms the doctor would usually prescribe some medicine and issue a medical certificate starting his sickleave from the next day. How can you blame the doctor If his client decides to go to London instead of going to bed?
@ Anthony PaceGouder - The case you mentioned is farfetched, wasn't this employee a member of a union. I would have expected at most a warning, unless of course there were other warnings, or this employee was daily not doing his duty.
I do not believe that taking one day sickleave under false pretences would get anyone sacked from his place of work - I would say they would get a warning and get sacked only if they got another warning. I have heard of many a man taking sickleave round about March - many would know what I;m talking about.

joe falzon

Feb 6th 2010, 20:46

you anti-teachers have still not answered the question--- what action would you suggest against a ministry that lies about teachers' income and refuses to clarify the matter. you know what you should all do --- come to gozo, stand in front of Ninu Cremona and chant 'crucify them! crudify them!' ....... pathetic!

Charmaine Marmara'

Feb 6th 2010, 20:09

3 days suspension ?? that way the students will have 3 days without lessons again. they should work at least a week without pay not suspended !!!!!! this is outrageous really and totally ridiculous .

sgalea

Feb 6th 2010, 19:44

"There are three things in the world that deserve no mercy; hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny.”

In this case we have all three. What a cover up!

Anthony PaceGouder

Feb 6th 2010, 19:41

X'differenza li tahdem mal-Privat u tahdem mal-Gvern ! Jien naf b'kaz fejn persuna TKECCIET u mhux SOSPENSJONI mix-xoghol . Il-Manager inserta rah jaqra ir-rizultati tal-futbol minn fuq l-INTERNET ! Dan forsi qatta GHAXAR MINUTI ?....u gie dismissed.minn persuna wahda u ma tpoggiex quddiem l-ebda 'disciplinary board" Tilef xogholu !
Araw x-differenza , eh !

Mill banda l-ohra hawn qed jinghad li dawn it-tlett Teachers , li qarrqu u serqu l-employer , ipprezentaw certificati tat-tabib (sic.k) ,ghall TLETT (3) TIJIEM SHAH = total ta' 72 SIEGA XOGHOL, siefru fuq 'shopping trip" u dawn dabbru sos-pensjoni ghall TLETT IJIEM ohra ! Dik XORTI !

Tlett tijiem ohra OFF, bix jistriehu ta" kemm grew ? . X-Disiplanary Action dik. Din-Farsa!

Veru sirna pajjiz tal-Carnivalati !

S Vella

Feb 6th 2010, 18:57

Really disgracefl!
Why aren't the names of the teachers and the doctor/s who issued the certificates published?
By issuing the certificate the doctor is certifying that on the day of examination he physically examined his patient....Hos honest the doctor is...but no one seems to take action against doctors because it is a known fact that some irresponsable doctors issue certificates in future dates.
Well done Education department for brushing off responsability and not refering case to the police. Thats a good example of haw to tackle abuses.
In Gozo these cover up things are even more common because everyone knows each other nd dont want to step on toes...With the blessing of who gives "some" Gozitans this power.

C.R. Taliana

Feb 6th 2010, 18:54

Dik sentenza! Tawhom tlett ijiem ohra leave!

Oscar Cassar

Feb 6th 2010, 18:34

3 ijiem BISS ??? X'Misthija... l-vera marru tajjeb over all... lanqas xi forma ta passi / investigazzjoni kontra t-tobba koncernati ???

Franco Tabone

Feb 6th 2010, 18:20

Oh only 3 days!!! So when it's the next holiday?? [sic]

Tanja Cilia

Feb 6th 2010, 18:04

Who, but who, takes these asinine decisions? It is the students who will suffer, being shunted from one group to another because their teachers are, again, absent from school. And, as often happens, this might create bad blood between the staff - heaven knows it already happens when teachers are known to be suffering from terminal illnesses, or broken limbs, or complicated pregnancies, and have to be absent from school.

Claire Micallef

Feb 6th 2010, 17:31

@ J Falzon... why are you thinking this is a witch hunt? How can you witch hunt someone without a name.....

It is irrelevant that they are teachers... they could have been clerks, police officers or nurses. Lying that you are sick when you are not, and having the cheek of going abroad during the same days is simply dishonest (it's at this point ie: that they are teachers and are supposed to set examples to their pupils / students that jars even more) . And the best thing of all is that they get another 3 days off by being suspended..... It is so unfair, and they are being paid by my and your taxes.

It's the suspension of these three days that I find incredible to believe. Some 4 years ago, a person who took sick leave and was seen in a European city was transferred at once from the place he had been working.....

Alison Natalie Keeler

Feb 6th 2010, 16:58

How foolish not to have planned the trip simply for the days they were entitled to be away. Let it serve as a lesson to us all not to deceive, whatever the motivation. Least of all shopping.

Charles Caruana

Feb 6th 2010, 16:53

Tlett ijiem vaganzi ohra jonqoshom ma li ghandhom flok naqqsulhom tletti ijiem paga u hadhuhom xorta. U mbghad l-MUT qed tiggieldilhom ghaz-zieda ha jmorru Parigi jew Montecarlo dis-sena jaghmlu x-shopping!!!

smifsud

Feb 6th 2010, 16:19

teachers lied to the doctors and should be terminated from there jobs due to lieing about there status and that is a bad example to the students they are suppose to be teaching ???....FIRE THEM!!!!

rtin saliba

Feb 6th 2010, 15:57

@joe falzon .You ave your union to look ot for you. If the goverment said that you earn 22000 euros get you union to demand 2200 euros. In the end two wrongs dont make 1 right . It is not one lousy sick day , it could be many many more. I would investigate this doctor and see how many sick notes he has issued to other tachers and dont say that they cant because of the data protection act. In case of fraud the data protection act is suspended to allow investigations to be made.

c. camilleric

Feb 6th 2010, 15:38

This is peanuts. What is 3 day pay to a person earning 22 thousands Euros a yr. This is ridiculous and is an invitation for others to repeat the same. The general opinion held that Govt employees can get away with murder surely applies in this case. Apart from the act itself these are supposed to be an examplary persons and i can imagine the students' faces when they face a cheater instead of a teacher.

Mark Galea

Feb 6th 2010, 15:03

I am not a teacher and do not have any interests in the matter.

However, it is really funny how people act - mass hysteria ... How many of these people who wrote are government employees? (you know what I want to mean). How many are 16 year olds that find glee in commenting negatively against teachers? How many are pensioneers (who have nothing to do) whose pension is being payed for by us, who work (and obviously these 3)

By the way, if you read the previous news about the same subject, you may have noticed a difference .. will give you a hint - 3 may be not so 3 - read well my friends, read between the lines and you may find much much more to comment about.

victor pulis

Feb 6th 2010, 14:42

If it was for me I would have made them write 'I must not go to london while on sick leave" a thousand times.
As for the doctor who issued the certificates. I can't see how the doctor comes into this. They could have complained of some ailment which is difficult to assess like acute diarhoea or a splitting headache with stiff neck or something. You didn't expect the doctor to hold a three day vigil outside their house did you?
@ P Fitzgerald
I don't think the doctor issued the certificates WHILE his clients were in London.

joe falzon

Feb 6th 2010, 14:41

Mr.Saliba, you're absolutely right! you're a stockholder and an investigation should be carried out! Absolutely! But before investigating this 'theft' of one lousy sick day, why not investigate the statement by the ministry of education that says we teachers take home 22,000 euros in net pay when in fact even the top-payed teacher actually takes home 1000's of euros less! before we account for that sick day, let's account for that discrepancy of thousands of euros multiplied by the thousands of teachers of all salary scales in malta and gozo! Right on, Mr.Saliba!

Tony Mangion

Feb 6th 2010, 14:35

Certainly nobody will tell that these teachers have not violated their conditions of work by reporting sick while abroad. But may I ask whether any blogger here have read the Auditor's report about grave abuses in most of the Government Departments not least at the U.K. Embassy, concerning the telephone bills, vacation and sick leave and fuel used by their respective cars. While on this subject, may I ask why is it that many Government cars are seen running along the roads on public holidays and parked outside private residences during the nights?

joe falzon

Feb 6th 2010, 14:34

I'm a teacher at the same school in question and i think it's being blown out of proportion. big crimes were given less media attention --- this is becoming more and more like a witch-hunt! And for those who think they know it all --- there are health complaints that doctors cannot physically verify, ex\; stress!....As regards students needs, well all i can say is that in the early 1990's there was a serious lack of qualified teachers and parents complained! if you had an 'A' level, you can teach. all fair and good. however, what i can't unbderstand is that i had a BA, PGCE, MA and nearly 4 years teaching experience in new york schools and at the interviews the Ministry of Education put me down at the bottom, for many months certain classes were without an english teacher and then a teacher less qualified than me --- And why? Because I didn't have a vote! So the very ministry of education was more concerned with hiring a person with a vote than taching qualifications! Scool began in september 1993..they finally hired me in april 1994! And then at 30-35% reduced wages!

Louise Vella

Feb 6th 2010, 14:28

Whenever there is an article about teachers hateful bloggers rush in. These teachers did wrong - that's a fact and in my opinion (and I'm a teacher) they should not have been suspended but made to work 3 days without pay. As many already pointed out, if they work in a secondary school then their lessons will have to be replaced by other teachers which is unfair.

May I remind the public however that even those who stole MILLIONS of euros from the VAT department where practically let off scot free. So stop this hatred towards teachers-especially if you are parents and your kids are in school. If you kids hear you talk about their teachers in such manner no wonder we get no respect in the classroom!!

johnny casillas

Feb 6th 2010, 14:23

@franco formosa: you think english people will buy from malta???? quality of products here are poor compare to england

@c. busuttil: well yeah i was in london last week and a versace tie cost 20 euros more for the same model in versace tie in malta. thats only one example

m.attard

Feb 6th 2010, 14:13

Very ridiculous of the board to hand these irresponsible teachers just 3 days suspension. This sentence may encourage others to act in this manner. I would have made them work one month without pay. Shame on them !

P Agius

Feb 6th 2010, 14:00

I have been suspended three days because when I was on sick leave I had to go to my doctor without informing the company I work with,( Government company) that I was going to be out from home. And the doctor wrote me a note of the time when I was at his clinic, for sure if I did as they did I will loose my job. Do they realize that their students will be doing nothing separated in different classes,Irresponsible teachers

mrtin saliba

Feb 6th 2010, 13:15

The Education Ministry brushed off responsibility when asked whether it was referring the case to the police for further investigation on possible incorrect use of medical certificates.
@ the education dept and / or education Minister. If you were a private company it would be in you interest to investigate the doctor who issued the certiicates as he would be an acomplice to fraud if he / she issued them if they were not really sick. The Goverment is the company , we the taxpayers are the share holders and i as 1 of the share holders demand that you investigate to protect my interests.

John Carmel Navarro

Feb 6th 2010, 13:15

The main issue is both the integrities of the Teachers and the Doctor; by their actions in my eyes they have lost the trust. A very sad example to set when one is in such a position. If the Doctor was acting in concert with the teachers then he or she must also be disciplined, otherwise the whole thing is going to turn into a farce just before Carnival! It is blatantly clear that the punishment does not provide a deterrent. I wonder how Parents feel about the three teachers who they entrust to teach their children.

J. Schembri

Feb 6th 2010, 12:59

@Joseph stafrace:"What's this ; the Republic of Gozo. First we had Hon John Dalli saying that the Gozo hospital is not part of his remit, but falls under the Gozo Ministry,now the Education sector; what next?"
My answer would be :"Gozo giving Malta independence!"

Louis Gatt

Feb 6th 2010, 12:54

Three days suspension for stealing away one day from a class of perhaps 30 students is simply not enough. The balance is only 2 days, as one day they were out shopping in London! This is certainly not a punishment but a farce, giving bad example to other teachers and to the students. I would very much like to see a re-hearing of the case and fit punishment for these three 'teachers'.

Paul Barrett

Feb 6th 2010, 12:44

@ J Bajada

I do hope that the sight of the three teachers being suspended for three days did not put the children off their exams. Were they suspended in different classrooms or all together in the assembly hall.

A good lesson for the children not to skive off school perhaps LOL.

Anthony Formosa

Feb 6th 2010, 12:40

@ Franco Farrugia, and you think that this is something new among the teachers, our children knows how many free lessons they have because the teachers is absent. You see Mr Farrugia, shall I also condemn you for being absent during your career?

@ Johnny casillas, it's cheaper that's why. Have you aver seen the English coming just shopping from Malta? NO because it's cheaper there. Did they have money in the 80s when Maltese use to shop from Sicily, YES.

sgalea

Feb 6th 2010, 12:38

What a shoddy and sleazy affair! How can the Minister of Gozo hide behind red tape to justify this omerta! So now we have it ;Doctors can issue false certificates and Government does nothing to stop this. How low can we go! The three day suspension is an insult to those who work in the private sector and to those in the public service who try to provide a service.

I hope the Prime Minister intervenes in this matter. The people voted for him not for Mme Omerta.

John Camilleri

Feb 6th 2010, 12:28

Woo hoo... caught in the media trap... this will keep going on for a week and everything will be forgotten. One also has to remember that the school children are no angels and I am sure they enjoyed having some free lessons. If these teachers had exemplar students I guess they would have thought twice about going abroad. By this I am not justyfing anyone, but one has to think about both aspects of the situation.

Christian Sciberras

Feb 6th 2010, 12:24

Ray Buttigieg - Nevermind getting fired! A private company would rightfully degrade such irresponsible behaviour!
The gov't on the other hand can't get rid of them. It's how bureaucracy works: those deciding on employment use the same erratic method they were employed, if they change, so would their status as employers...

“Bureaucracy expands to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.” Oscar Wilde
“Bureaucracy is the death of all sound work” - Albert Einstein

Robert Cassar

Feb 6th 2010, 12:19

Being a teacher my self, i can state more than anybody else, that what they did was ethically wrong.

However the comments i read over here are hilarious to say the least. Someone wrote: poor students, they have missed their lessons. They truly did but... !!!! COME ON!!!- I was almost expecting to read that these students' future was ruined because they missed one lesson or two.

What about those parents who take their kids abroad for skying/shopping holidays during the academic year? Or those who tell them to stay at home three days a month, because the law allows it without having to submit an MC..


This website it truly becoming a vent for teacher haters to submit their comments!!! Come on!!-- -- what did teachers ever do to you? Like anybody else teachers are human, they do mistakes. In this case they were reprimanded and disciplined.... they learned their lesson!! But i guess you want more blood----- MAYBE A PUBLIC CRUCIFIXION would have been more adequate and satisfying..

Christian Sciberras

Feb 6th 2010, 12:09

J Farrugia - Actually it's not Gozo, but Malta as a whole.
Frans van Avendonk - Agreed, especially knowing how fake/irrgular certificates are quite common and students from age 10 seem to rely and make use of them.

J Bajada

Feb 6th 2010, 12:01

@ All
for your information, these teachers concerned have already been suspended for 3 days during the exams, so no lessons have been lost. And they didn't have a long weekend to enjoy because the suspended days were on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Keith D'Amato

Feb 6th 2010, 11:33

"have been suspended for three days without pay" - Wow that must really set them back! HAHA

Joseph stafrace

Feb 6th 2010, 11:30

What's this ; the Republic of Gozo. First we had Hon John Dalli saying that the Gozo hospital is not part of his remit, but falls under the Gozo Ministry,now the Education sector; what next?

James Muscat

Feb 6th 2010, 11:27

I have lost all hope that justice will ever prevail in this country. One would have thought that a harsh enough deterrent is going to be meted out to skivers such as these. 3 days suspension is not only a joke, it is an insult to all the hard working teachers and working. The minimum should have been 3 weeks service (NOT suspension) WITHOUT pay. Immediate proceedings should also be started against the doctor who issued the fake sickness certificates. As is with everything else here in Malta with cases such as these, there is an initial outcry, but then things settle down, and NOTHING is ever mentioned again. As they say about the justice system: Min ghandu tort jitla' l-qorti, u mhux min ghandu ragun. Ahleb Guz! I don't blame people who try to milk the system to the maximum for their own benefit - knowing well that, if they are ever caught, the 'punishment' given will be far less than what they have gained through their illegal doings.

C. Busuttil

Feb 6th 2010, 11:22

@ Johnny Casillas
How long has it been since you've been to London? Last September, comparing the standard of living of England and Malta, prices in London were cheaper than in Malta.

Paul Barrett

Feb 6th 2010, 11:16

Let he who has no sin throw the first stone.
The misuse of sick leave (and medical certificates to back it) is not a rare occurrence in many employments world wide - the crime here is their stupidity in dragging the medical profession (probably an extremely busy doctor who has little time to try and prove his patient is telling lies to obtain a certificate) into disrepute and being caught out.
Yes the whole thing is distasteful and does set a bad example but it is not the worst crime in the book. The loss of three days pay for missing one days work (the other days away were none school days) is I suppose reasonable though I cannot understand the suspension which has the effect of denial of service to the school and extra work for other teachers to the detriment of the children.

J Farrugia

Feb 6th 2010, 10:33

whaty can I say SHAME on the Gozo ministry for letting these teachers scot free. They should have made them work without pay for 6 days. not suspending them, so that they can enjoy another 3 days without classes. Seems to me that whatever happens in Gozo is corrupt.

kevin bonello

Feb 6th 2010, 10:32

Now this is irresponsible behaviour but I hope you have all done your Maths. They missed ONE day of school as the remaining days were holidays. In most schools, one is allowed to take a small amount of special leave - I am sure you can take 5/6 hours off so the dishonesty was avoidable. However, I don't believe this deserves a prison sentence and as to 'putting children's lives in danger' - this is rather an exaggeration. They have been reprimanded and probably feel like right idiots so that is enough. People are so quick to condemn others as if they have a completely clear conscience. People do stupid things and I know this site seems to encourage the holier than thou attitude but I hope that in the real world you are not so quick to judge.

T. Formosa

Feb 6th 2010, 10:32

I have a suggestion when they can have their suspended 3 days!!!! Carnival holidays on the 15th and 16th February, and the suspended 3 days on the 17th and 18th and 19th. What a long week off!!!! They can plan another holiday now!! London here we come!!! Again!!

F.Gatt

Feb 6th 2010, 10:26

I guess the real punishment would have been working without pay!!! 3 days suspended is nothing! They will be free to go on another holiday in those 3 days! And after all the students they usually teach will be missing their lessons!! Poor students!!

L.Grech

Feb 6th 2010, 10:14

Just 3 days suspension!?!? Well, I bet that after these 3 days they will start having their usual coffee or go shopping at arkadia twice a day, everyday during school hours.

M Agius

Feb 6th 2010, 10:14

As a teacher I feel guilty taking even genuine sick leave or using the special leave to which I am entitled because I know that I would be putting an added burden on my fellow teachers who would have extra students in class for the day, while the children spend a boring day doing little that is relevant to them unless they happen to be sent to a class of their year group. In a secondary school there would be extra replacement duties for the teachers and missed lessons for the children. The only real effect that the board's decision would have is that this situation is brought on to the school by the disciplinary board itself for THREE days. Who is really being punished here?

h cassar

Feb 6th 2010, 10:07

Three days only! that's a joke and the punishment will rebound on the students who will not have lessons for those three days. I would have given the teachers a whole month without pay and put them at the bottom of the list for seniority purposes. Three days only........unbelievable, worth going for a shopping spree.

maxine borg

Feb 6th 2010, 09:55

3 days???? Being a teacher myself, that is encouraging me to have some sick leave to go to London!! I was more thinking that this would be a warning for other teachers but it is not! This is not fair on other teachers who work hard all year round!! And what about the doctor's issueing the certificates?? All is ok with that??

J. Schembri

Feb 6th 2010, 09:32

@Frans van Avendonk spot on :WHAT ABOUT THE DOCTOR/S WHO ISSUED THE FALSE CERTIFICATES?

Franco Farrugia

Feb 6th 2010, 09:20

This is a digusting decision - as a teacher, I am ashamed and embarrassed that these teachers got away scot-free. A 3-day suspension does not reflect the harm they did to their students, to their fellow-teachers who had to stand in for them - in case many people don't know this! - as well as to the teaching profession in general. Not only that, but the 'penalty' they got also throws their fellow-teachers in further standing-in. Not even the DoE knows how these things work!
Why is it that the Department of Education washed its hands of the whole affair? Why was this considered to be the competence of the Ministry for Gozo? The mind boggles! I think that further investigation is in order. Are these teachers friends of someone high up?

J Oatmon

Feb 6th 2010, 08:59

The important point here is parents have to trust the kids have teachers who have integrity and teach the right values - obviously these three are liars and cheats, and should be sacked right away.
Of course the union leadership would oppose this, because they are more concerned about their membership and the dues their members pay (their salaries), than the quality of the teachers

Frans van Avendonk

Feb 6th 2010, 08:47

Maybe he/she/they who issued the certificate should be found as well for issuing false certificates!

J. Schembri

Feb 6th 2010, 08:35

What if these three professional workers worked in the private sector? I'm sure they would have been formally warned or fired.

Kevin Zammit

Feb 6th 2010, 08:25

I'm sure that when it is convenient another rule will be quoted to counter article 40 and we find out that the 'PUBLIC Service Commision' has some other regulation that states that if something is in public interest its ok to devulge it ...

victor caruana

Feb 6th 2010, 08:24

Bet I know who the teachers vote for!!!!

Ray Buttigieg

Feb 6th 2010, 08:23

No wonder the government sector is full of indiscipline and inefficiencies. In the private sector an employee would have probably got fired. A mere 3 day suspension is no effective disciplinary action. To add insult to injury these were teachers who are supposedly guided by a professional etos. And what about the doctor who issued the medical certificate. Well I guess he is a doctor and therefore above the law. Pajjiz tal-Micky Mouse

johnny casillas

Feb 6th 2010, 08:06

shopping in london? and they say there is no money in malta....what a shame. there is money in malta and maltese and gozitans are rich people so stop grumbling that there is a problem of money in malta. this is not true. also shame on these teachers if they really went shopping to one of the most expensive cities in europe.

p fitzgerald

Feb 6th 2010, 07:47

What about the doctor who issued the medical certificates while his clients where in London
Scott free i presume!!!!

Lorraine Vella

Feb 6th 2010, 07:23

just 3 days??? and what about the doctor who signed their certificates???

Ernest Vella

Feb 6th 2010, 07:06

Three unpaid leave are worth a holiday to London...the students will have three more days without the teachers...I would have ordered to work without being paid for three days...by doing so you took three days pay and gave them 3 days more of holidays....incredible....lets use our minds for once