(Adds comments by principal of St Theresa College, of which the Birkirkara Primary forms part)

A Birkirkara primary school student, aged five, has pushed a crayon into his teacher’s eye, putting her at risk of serious consequences.

The teacher, who is still under medical observation, has reported the incident to the police.

The Malta Union of Teachers expressed its solidarity with the teacher and said it expected that she would be given all the necessary assistance should this be required.

The union said that such incidents could be avoided through an adequate service of professionals, including psychologists, counsellors and social workers.

It said it has been insisting for adequate support for students with adjustment problems for quite some time.

St Theresa College principal Francis Fabri said that the incident took place while the children, including the boy involved in the incident, were drawing.

The head of school informed the college of the incident, requested the boy to be observed by a psychologist - not to incriminate him but to help him, wrote a report on the incident, offered the teacher support and cooperated with the authorities.

Mr Fabri said he also spoke to the teacher and offered support and the school and the college embarked on procedures for the boy to be evaluated according to established procedures so that no risks would be taken.

The principal said that those responsible should intervene immediately in the best interests of all involved but one had to be cautious.