A number of music teachers have joined forces against the local representative of a foreign institution after they discovered that the certificates earned by their students over many years were worthless and that they had all been victims of a hoax.

Rita Psaila, from Kalkara, is facing a judicial protest filed today before the First Hall of the Civil Court by 20 Maltese music teachers who are calling upon her to remedy the "serious and grave shortcoming" knowingly perpetrated by her over the years.

The plaintiffs are claiming they had devoted many years of hard work, personal sacrifice and perseverance to assist thousands of students in their musical pursuits, regularly preparing them to sit for exams offered by LSM, a foreign music institution.

The court was told how the defendant regularly received fees for these exams, constantly reassuring her applicants that she was in the process of being duly accredited.

It later turned out that LSM had no accreditation whatsoever, neither on the local nor the international music scene.

The plaintiffs argued that this fraudulent behaviour by the defendant had meant a "serious loss of money, time and energy" not only for the teachers but also for their students. One also had to keep in mind the financial losses, the delay in academic pursuits and the missed job opportunities which this hoax could possibly mean for those involved.

The plaintiffs called upon the defendant to provide an adequate remedy within two weeks from the date of the judicial act.

The protest was signed by lawyer Bernard Grech and legal procurator Peter Paul Sammut.