Philip Rizzo, the newly-appointed CEO of the Foundation of Tomorrow’s Schools, got a 20 per cent rise in his monthly pay cheque when compared to his previous post at the helm of the Employment and Training Corporation.

Already on a State pension, Mr Rizzo, 65, is getting more than €6,000 a month apart from a fully-expensed car and other perks, according to information given by the Education Ministry.

Mr Rizzo was censured by Education Minister Evarist Bartolo last August for making sexist comments on one of his subordinates in public. Sources close to the Education Ministry told the Times of Malta Mr Bartolo asked Mr Rizzo to run the FTS soon after his resignation from the ETC last March.

Mr Bartolo had appointed Mr Rizzo as the ETC’s chief executive officer soon after Labour’s return to power.

At ETC, Mr Rizzo’s salary amounted to €46,000 annually, which was topped up by other perks including a performance bonus, an expense allowance, a disturbance allowance, a fully-expensed car and a personal foreign health insurance cover. In total, Mr Rizzo was earning more than €59,000 a year.

In August last year, Mr Rizzo posted comments online, beneath a swimsuit photo of a new ETC official, stating: “This is the only ETC head of division with three Bs… brains, boobs and balls! She’s a very capable lady”.

Mr Bartolo said publicly “these comments were out of place for a person occupying such a position”.

The FTS was in the news recently after a Gozitan contractor claimed that an employee who reports directly to Mr Bartolo had asked him for a bribe of €30,000 in connection with the building of a school in Victoria. The claim was made to an FTS official and repeated during a meeting in the minister’s presence.

In a defamation court case against the contractor, Mr Bartolo insisted that as soon as he heard the claims he told those present to report the matter to the police.

The FTS official against whom the claims were made is the brother of the ministry’s permanent secretary. He categorically denies the claims.