A draconian law threatening lecturers and staff at the Institute of Tourism Studies with a €2,500 fine and up to six months in jail if they disclose internal matters will be removed.
Employees were forbidden from disclosing any non-public information
The controversial provision would be deleted from the legal notice published on May 11 and which gave the ITS a legal status, a spokesman for the Education Minister confirmed yesterday.
“Since all legislation is vetted by the Attorney General’s Office, the ministry, in consultation with his office and with the Justice Unit, will move an amendment to delete this provision,” the spokesman said when asked.
He added that the leaking of sensitive information that a person had access to because of the office one held was already covered by other legislation.
The education authorities received a barrage of complaints on the controversial provision, especially by staff members who perceived this as an attempt to muzzle them.
Article 28 of the ITS legislation stated that employees were forbidden from disclosing any “non-public information” to which they became privy because of their position within the institute.
Apart from any disciplinary action the ITS board “may deem appropriate to take”, whoever breaches the provisions of these regulations was liable to a fine of not less than €1,100 and not more than €2,500 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.
The matter was raised during a meeting held recently for ITS employees by the Malta Union of Teachers, which said the provision was unacceptable.
The law, which falls under the Education Act, aims to strengthen the institute’s running and help it develop according to the needs of students and the tourism industry.
The institute will be more open to international relations and have the possibility to widen its operations abroad while attracting more foreign students.