A controversial legal notice giving the Education Minister the right to ask for students’ personal information was given the backing of the outgoing Data Protection Commissioner as it was intended for research purposes.
Legal Notice 76, which was published on March 4, was catapulted into controversy yesterday when Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil announced the Opposition would file a parliamentary motion today to repeal it.
Information is necessary to implement the Jobs+ initiatives
Dr Busuttil referred to a statement by the University Students’ Council (KSU) raising concerns that the law could lead to privacy breaches.
In a counter statement, the Education Ministry argued that the data referred to in the legal notice would be crucial in the implementation of employment and educational policies, adding that the notice had been cleared by the Data Protection Commissioner.
Times of Malta contacted the outgoing commissioner, Joseph Ebejer, who confirmed that he had been asked for advice by the government over the legal notice and he approved it. Mr Ebejer asked not to be re-appointed after his term expired in February.
The Education Ministry argued yesterday that directorates within the ministry had been empowered to ask for students’ personal information way back in 2006, through article 16 of the Education Act.
This articles states that a directorate “is entitled to request and obtain all data it may require from students, parents, personnel and from public and private educational institutions, and this data should be given to it within a reasonable time from the date of request”.
Union concerned by law’s scope for potential Education Minister abuse
The ministry insisted that the information was necessary to implement the Jobs+ initiatives launched by the previous administration and for the drafting of policies such as the Employability Index and the Youth Guarantee.
The government noted that, during the last legislature, the government failed to publish important educational trend studies.
“If the Opposition leader thinks the country should also do without this legal notice and article 16 of the Education Act, then he must explain how we would formulate any meaningful educational policies that are not based on sound research,” the ministry said.
Speaking at a PN rally in Paola, Dr Busuttil said this was another example of a government playing ‘Big Brother’.
On its part, the KSU expressed concern that this would vest the Education Minister with potentially abusive powers.
The student union pointed out that people who refused to comply with any request that was made under the legal notice would be guilty of an offence against the Education Act.
The KSU questioned whether the legal notice conformed with Maltese and European legislation and if the advice of the Data Protection Commissioner had been sought.
The two-page legal notice lays down that the ministry shall have the right to ask for “a legally valid identification document number” and data relating to “age, sex, ability, educational attainments and other data of the persons to whom they relate as appear to the minister to be necessary to be used for research purposes and to provide for adequate advice to be given on employment prospects and to prepare plans for their training pursuant to the provisions of the (Employment and Training Services) Act”.