Some schools have tried to “minimise and hide” teachers’ concerns amid reports of violent incidents.

As a result, according to Malta Union of Teachers head Marco Bonnici, many educators have become reluctant to report cases of aggressive behaviour taking place inside the school gates as they were convinced this would not lead to any positive change.

It emerged in Parliament last week that since the beginning of the year there had been 23 reports lodged on the education department support website. The webpage is specifically designed to enable those educators who experience some form of aggression while in school to file an official complaint.

According to the information tabled in Parliament by Education Minister Evarist Bartolo, in reply to a question by PN MP Clyde Puli, the 23 reports were related to nine separate cases.

Asked whether the numbers provided by the minister were a true reflection of the situation inside school grounds, Mr Bonnici said that “a good number” of educators actually chose not to report cases of aggression.

This, he said, was a result of “a variety of reasons” but was mostly due to “a sense of helplessness” that had spread among educators as a result of “a general feeling that they do not feel supported”.

Many teachers, he went on, have even claimed that some schools tried to minimise and hide their concerns and incidents, which meant that many were now reluctant to report incidents of aggression.

A general feeling that they do not feel supported

No reply was forthcoming from the Education Ministry when asked for a reaction to the teachers’ claims that schools were downplaying their concerns.

Meanwhile, a breakdown of the 23 cases provided by the ministry shows that there were three instances when more than one report was filed on the same case.

In one instance, 13 reports were filed on the same student with disability attending a resource centre. In another, two reports were filed on the same student while in a third case, three reports were filed regarding another student with disability attending a resource centre.

One report was also filed by a teacher on another teacher because of language used towards a black student.

According to a ministry spokesman, the cases were all being followed up “weekly if not daily” by the Education Resources Director General.

On whether the cases were reported to the authorities, the spokesman said that three of the cases were taken to the police. He also noted that it is “within the discretion of the school” whether or not a situation needed police assistance and if so this is requested by the head of school.

When required, the ministry’s legal team also provides assistance, the spokesman said.

The teachers’ concerns about aggressive behaviour come as safety at schools has again been making headlines in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, two men were arraigned in connection with an incident at the Pembroke secondary school that allegedly occurred after a young student had to be hospitalised following an assault by another student.

A student and a school official were involved in a fight at St Ignatius College secondary school, in Qormi, the day after.

Since then, the union has said that it knew of more cases and that had also been reported to the authorities, resulting in teachers experiencing “a certain amount of apprehension” in some schools.

During a meeting with the Opposition last week, Mr Bonnici also said he was informed that the government was finally moving to commission a plan to increase school security however this did not entirely address teachers’ concerns since only around a dozen of Malta’s schools would be covered by these new measures.

After the spate of reports, the minister made a direct appeal to parents to stop aggression towards educators. Mr Bartolo said it was “unacceptable” for parents or other relatives to step into schools displaying aggressive or violent behaviour.

claire.caruana@timesofmalta.com