The education ministry should not ignore the calls for help by the parents of children with severe disabilities about the lack of resources at the Guardian Angel Secondary Education Resource Centre, the Nationalist Party said. 

PN education spokesperson Justin Schembri and inclusion spokesperson Graziella Galea also urged police to speed up investigations into the alleged physical abuse of three students by three educators early last year. 

“These allegations are hampering the work being carried out at the resource centre,” they said as they expressed support for staff at the centre.They said they were open to collaborate. 

They were reacting to a Times of Malta report in which parents of severely disabled children who attend the state-run secondary education resource centre spoke out about the lack of specially trained staff and resources to cater for the specific needs of students at the school - which forms part of the Dun Gorg Preca College that caters for students between 11 and 16.

Unrelated to this, police are investigating allegations of physical abuse by three educators on severely disabled students at the same centre. The alleged abuse, which dates back to early last year, involved spraying the non-verbal students with “a liquid” and hitting one student on the head, according to sources. The educators have been suspended. The matter was flagged during a parliamentary question by PN MP Justin Schembri. 

Meanwhile, concerned parents said their children had to spend weeks or months out of school either because they were suspended for challenging behaviour, or because they feared for their children’s health and safety if they were sent to the centre. They said this was also leading to the burn out of dedicated staff.

Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rhoda Garland confirmed that the commission received several reports from parents of students at Guardian Angel and agreed that the centre had a lack of LSEs and therapeutic professionals to meet the needs of children with challenging behaviour.

The Education Ministry, however issued a statement in which it denied that there is a lack of human resources at the centre, including LSEs.

On Wednesday Education Minister Clifton Grima said that the resources requested by the resource centre were always granted and the student-to-educator ratio was according to policy. This was one class teacher and three LSEs for eight students.

He said the ministry was looking into concerns - that previous methods might need to be revised - and last month it nominated a fact-finding board to evaluate the actual situation inside the school and provide recommendations by the end of this month.

The National Strategy for Education, which is in its final consultation phase, will “transform” the sector and will cover all its needs, the ministry said in the statement.

The Malta Union of Teachers defended educators saying it was “unacceptable that individuals, who have no idea what it takes to run an educational institution, seek all possible ways to bring the school to its knees, at the detriment of educators and students.”

In reaction to this Rebecca Bonello, a former parent representative on the school board who pulled out her 12-year-old son for safety concerns, said parents had been battling for more resources for a year.

If there were no issues with resources, she said, “Can I kindly ask… why the music room and lab are closed? Can I also ask why a multi-sensory was done this year and why there is no calm room?....Children have been suspended and parents have been forced to give their children medication…. We had to stop our son’s education because it was effecting his mental health,” she said.

Meanwhile, MaltaCAN - a voluntary organisation made up of 14 organisations advocating the promotion and support of children’s rights - said it was "deeply troubled by the escalating segregation of children on the autism spectrum in Malta".

“This is a serious concern when taking into consideration the 180 pending applications from students who are currently waiting for a learning support educator,” it said.

It added that the lack of data and research into the current situation underscored the urgency of addressing the issue promptly to ensure the right to education for every child.