Media reports on how Education Minister Evarist Bartolo handled the Skolasajf fiasco say that he has publicly admitted he was irked by the way he was misled into believing that everything would be ‘all right on the night’, when in fact those responsible for its organisation had plotted a disaster waiting to happen.

Over the years, Skolasajf had become popular with parents and children alike, with the Education Department utilising students from the Faculty of Education and volunteers from the teaching staff to run it. The experience of so many years should have led to a problem-free piece of cake, but this was not the case.

Apparently, someone decided to entrust the Foundation for Educational Services (FES) with the responsibility of organising Skolasajf and, as so often happens when someone new is entrusted to carry out a job, FES was tempted to discard old and tried methods and decided to handle things rather differently.

Student-teachers were told they would only have to work for one month as there were too many applicants, only to discover later that the system was heavily understaffed. One coordinator was entrusted with a number of schools rather than each school having its own coordinator, as previously.

Funds for resources were heavily reduced and schools were told they would not be receiving any money to cover maintenance costs. School heads justifiably reacted by not allowing Skolasajf to use school resources such as interactive whiteboards and computers.

I suspect that FES was briefed to do the same job while spending less money and it took up the challenge, only to find it had planned an unmitigated disaster.

While this mess was going on, the minister was told that ‘everything was fine’ only to discover that this was very far from the truth just before Skolasajf was due to start. Eventually, Skolasajf had to start four days after the original schedule, after the problems that delayed its inauguration were resolved; while Bartolo assured everybody that disciplinary measures were to be taken against those responsible for the “disastrous” organisation.

Like every country when something like this happens, it is the minister who gets the blame, and ministers are surrounded by ‘loyal’ people who avoid worrying the minister unnecessarily. In so doing, in many instances they do him – or her – a great disservice.

In this case, Bartolo was faced with the truth about what was going on at a very late juncture and, understandably, he must have been really miffed.

A situation where a minister is misled by his own aides and by civil servants is nothing new. It shows how much the exercise of choosing the right people around you is tricky and sensitive for a minister or even a prime minister.

The job of these people is to avoid their boss getting upset by doing the right thing, not by misleading him. Unfortunately many cannot make this distinction and think that so long as the minister is not upset, anything goes.

• I thought Justice Minister Owen Bonnici reacted too hastily to the letter sent to him by PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami in which he suggested the setting up of a parliamentary working group tasked with presenting a set of proposals on State funding for political parties – a proposal that is also on the radar of Alternattiva Demokratika.

The group would look at systems adopted in other European countries and recommend a Maltese version.

Perhaps Fenech Adami’s mistake was to link the proposal with the proposed law regulating political parties that sets limits regarding donations on which the political parties thrive and which lead to suspicions that certain individuals get what they want thanks to their ‘generosity’ towards the party’s cause.

The minister was told that ‘everything was fine’ only to discover that this was very far from the truth just before Skolasajf was due to start

Fenech Adami was correct, however, when he pointed out that doing away with such donations and relying on State funding is the best way for the country’s political parties to be put on a level playing field and is a measure that safeguards democracy. Even so, many taxpayers instinctively react to the idea by saying ‘ouch!’

Bonnici did not actually shoot down the proposal. What he shot down was the linking of the proposal with the party financing Bill that the government wants ap­proved before the end of July when the House of Representatives takes a break for the summer recess. Perhaps he should have stopped to think and suggest that the proposed exercise should be carried out as a separate task, rather than be so quick with his riposte.

But then, he was busy choosing a new judge… a choice that led to many raised eyebrows, considering the choice fell on Wenzu Mintoff. Although I disagree with the way judges are nominated in Malta, I acknowledge that history has shown that many judges with previous political baggage proved to be worth their salt when they judged what used to be their own side to be wrong.

Historically, this has consistently happened with judges appointed by Constitutional, Nationalist and Labour administrations.

I have no reason to believe that Mintoff will behave otherwise.

micfal@maltanet.net