Parents of students who attend St Catherine’s High School in Pembroke were stunned to learn through an e-mail that their children’s school would be closed for a day “due to a family mourning”.
I had to take a day off to stay with my children instead of going to work
Many parents who contacted The Sunday Times said they could not understand the school directors’ decision to close it for an entire day so teachers could attend the funeral of the director’s uncle.
Through an e-mail sent on October 17, seen by this newspaper, parents of the 500 students who attend the private independent school were informed by director Sue Mifsud Midolo that “there will be no school tomorrow due to a family mourning”.
Excusing the school’s administration for the inconvenience caused, the director advised parents to “keep our family in your prayers”.
While empathising with the school’s director for the loss, parents could not understand why the school decided to close its doors.
“This is incomprehensible. Although these things can happen to everyone we can’t understand why 500 students, scores of teachers and all the parents had to suffer the consequences,” a 42-year-old single mother said.
“I had to take a day off to stay with my children instead of going to work.”
A 31-year-old mother who works part-time to stay with her two young children in the afternoons said: “It’s not fair on us who have to work and have another million things to do.”
“Our educational system is already not geared to today’s needs as schools clock off early. These unplanned interruptions make our life much more difficult.”
Attempts made by The Sunday Times to contact the school’s directors proved unsuccessful, while questions sent by e-mail to Ms Mifsud Midolo remained unanswered.
A senior official from the Education Ministry confirmed a number of complaints had been filed on the issue but admitted there was nothing that could be done.
“Church and independent schools are informed every year of the minimum number of schooling hours they are bound to have in a scholastic year. This year the minimum has to be 953.5 hours. However, it is up to them to decide when to have holidays,” the official said.
Asked whether a school can declare a holiday from one day to the next, the official said Church and independent schools were not obliged to ask for permission from the education directorate to grant a school holiday as long as the minimum number of school hours was adhered to.
St Catherine’s students’ parents said they had not yet been informed whether the school would make up for the lost day.
SCHOOL STATEMENT
In a statement, the school said it fully understood the complications and inconveniences that arose because of the sudden announcement of the school’s closure for a day.
It said it empathised with the parents who had to sort out child care arrangements at such short notice.
However, the school was closed because the brother, and not the uncle as reported, of the head of school and other members of the senior management team died.