A second former Education ­Ministry official who resigned in the wake of the EU education funds suspension saga last year is contesting his culpability and his case is being investigated by the Ombudsman, The Times has learnt.

Three officials had been held responsible for the shortcomings within the EU programmes agency that led to funds being suspended, disrupting the plans of hundreds of students and organisations.

Two weeks ago, one of the officials, former permanent secretary Christopher Bezzina, broke his nine-month silence to claim he was made a scapegoat to “appease the masses” and lessen the government’s embarrassment.

Now, a second official, former policy development director Robert Tabone, says he filed a report with the Ombudsman asking him to investigate why he was blamed by a board of inquiry for the agency’s failings.

When contacted for his reaction to Prof. Bezzina’s claims, Mr Tabone said he could not comment because his case was being reviewed by the Ombudsman on his request and he did not wish to prejudice the investigation. It is understood he filed his complaint soon after he resigned.

The funds associated with the Lifelong Learning and Youth In Action programmes have remained frozen since last May despite efforts to improve the situation and bring the auditing procedures in line with European Commission standards.

The third official who resigned over the matter is former national agency coordinator Mauro Pace Parascandalo, who has not spoken out so far.

The inquiry report had found that, although they did not intend any wrongdoing, their positions were untenable. In their resignation letters they had all expressed disagreement with the inquiry report and reserved the right to contest its conclusions.

Education Minister Dolores Cristina has insisted that “crucial correspondence” from the European Commission on the mismanagement of funds for students’ programmes reached her office when it was too late.

“When this information was pushed upwards, it was too late to do anything effective to prevent the suspension of funds,” she said.

Following a recent visit to Malta by European Commission officials, Brussels said “shortcomings and deficiencies still persist” at the EU programmes agency and at the ministry, which is the national authority for the programmes.

Under new conditions imposed by Brussels, the Maltese authorities can now launch calls within the framework of the two programmes for 2011. However, none of the successful applicants will receive EU funding if Malta does not introduce further reforms and assure the Commission on the 2010 accounts by the end of April.

The agency and the authority have until April 30 to provide Brussels with a “2010 declaration of assurance” that will provide the evidence for all that is required by the Commission.

Prof. Bezzina had said the board of inquiry was well aware he was not to blame for any mismanagement. He had said a “biased jury” concluded he had not informed his superiors but what failed to emerge from the inquiry was the mismanagement of people in higher authority than his office, even higher than the minister, as well as the mismanagement within the European Union Programmes Agency.