Education minister Clifton Grima has denied claims made by his former chief of staff that no one employed in his secretariat has a university degree. 

The claims surfaced from a recorded phone conversation leaked by the Nationalist Party last week. In the call, Ryan Borg, who up until recently was Grima’s chief of staff, tells an unidentified person that the staff in the minister’s secretariat were not qualified and rarely turned up for work. 

“There isn’t even one graduate in the secretariat... it’s a recipe for disaster,” said Borg, who also said that Grima was unfit to be minister “if he is unaware of all the problems around him". 

Asked for his reaction to the claims, Grima said he accepted all criticism directed towards him. 

“But anyone who unjustly attacks my staff will find me staunchly defending them,” he said. 

He denied that no one on his staff was a university graduate, insisting that his secretariat was made up of a mix of workers who performed different roles. 

"Everyone does their part efficiently and to the best of their abilities,” he said, adding that the same team had accompanied him on his journey to being elected to parliament. 

Grima also categorically denied that his current chief of staff, Joe Filletti “can’t even write”. 

However, he refused to comment on Borg’s claim that he exclusively employed yes men. 

“This was a private phone call between two people. I have nothing to say and will not be attacking him [Borg] even if I don’t agree with him. I am above that. It was opinion expressed in private,” he said, claiming that he had been aware of the views expressed in the call for some time. 

Grima listed a number of achievements and events that he said his team had contributed to, including Malta’s run to the semi-finals of the water polo champions league, as well as the country playing host to the Small Nations Games.