The San Lawrenz primary employs two janitors and three watchmen, despite having just 43 students, which makes it the school with the smallest population.

Were this not enough, another janitor was posted at the school last week, despite a National Audit Office report that queried the financial viability of small State primary schools.

According to the NAO report for the scholastic year 2013/2014, the operational cost per student at the San Lawrenz primary school was €9,000, almost three times the national average.

The report had argued it made more financial sense to amalgamate certain schools with very small student populations.

But despite these findings, the Education Ministry has defended the posting of a new janitor at the school. A spokesman insisted the posting was of a temporary nature and part of a scheme administered by the Employment and Training Corporation.

The deployment was done to cover the general cleaning that had to be done throughout the summer after the end of the scholastic year, he added.

The ministry said cleaning was also required as a result of refurbishment works that took place in parts of the building and the use of the school for Skola Sajf. “Therefore cleaning services have to be ensured at all times.”

The woman was assigned to the school through the community work scheme managed by the ETC. The programme gives unemployed people seeking employment, who are in receipt of employment benefits, a work experience.

The ministry spokesman said the education directorate gave opportunities of work exposure to various people seeking employment in its schools and educational facilities across Malta and Gozo.

However, the woman’s deployment has raised eyebrows in Gozo, especially in the wake of the NAO report.

Sources said the school was more than adequately served with two janitors. They also cast doubt on the need to have three watchmen for a school that was housed in the same building as a police station.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com