Education ombudsman slams ‘illegal’ LSE seniority system in state schools
Ranking educators by qualifications instead of experience amounts to maladministration, commissioner finds
The system used by some state schools to rank Learning Support Educators (LSEs) by academic qualifications rather than years of experience is illegal and discriminatory, according to the Education Ombudsman.
The issue was flagged in September last year, when 329 LSEs working in state schools filed a formal complaint over how seniority is determined within individual schools.
They stressed that their complaint was not related to salary structures. They clarified that they were not opposed to colleagues with higher qualifications earning more and that their concern focused solely on seniority.
Under the current system, LSEs who obtain a qualification or an additional qualification automatically gain seniority over others, negatively affecting more experienced educators, particularly during redeployment to other schools.
The LSEs pointed out that this approach does not apply to other educator grades, such as teachers or kindergarten educators, who retain their seniority regardless of the qualifications held by newly appointed staff.
Following the complaint, the Commissioner for Education opened an investigation and requested the views of the permanent secretary within the education ministry.
The ministry did not provide a substantive response, citing ongoing discussions with the Malta Union of Teachers and stating that it was not in a position to express its views at that stage, the Commissioner noted in its final report.
Throughout his investigation, the Commissioner confirmed that the practice described by the LSEs was applied across state schools and has been in place for several years.
The inquiry also examined the relevant legal framework. The Manual on Resourcing, Policies and Procedures clearly states that seniority in the public service is determined by the date of appointment in the grade and, subsequently, by previous service. Both the current and previous collective agreements establish a single grade of LSE, even though different salary scales apply through progression.
As a result, the current practice was found to be unlawful and discriminatory. The Commissioner concluded that it breached the rules governing seniority and treated LSEs differently from other educator grades without any objectively reasonable justification.
Determining seniority based on qualifications rather than date of appointment was deemed maladministration under the Ombudsman Act and public service regulations. The Commissioner recommended that this illegal practice cease immediately.