Uncertainty about the future of Education Minister Justyne Caruana is leading to pressing issues in the educational sector not being addressed, the Nationalist Party said on Saturday.  

The PN's concerns were echoed by ADPD, which said that it was "despicable" that no action had been taken so far against Caruana or her top ministry official, despite flagrant breaches. 

Addressing a press conference, Nationalist MP Clyde Puli said that while the education sector is facing serious challenges, workers and civil servants are unsure whether the minister in charge will remain in office.  

Important decisions are being left on the back burner, he warned. 

Prime Minister Robert Abela has so far sat on the fence over whether he will sack Caruana after a standards probe found she had breached parliamentary ethics rules.   

While Standards Commissioner George Hyzler found that the minister gave a €15,000 contract to her close friend Daniel Bogdanovic which he was not qualified for, Prime Minister Abela has said he will wait for a parliamentary committee to discuss the report’s findings before taking any action.  

Flanked by two electoral candidates on the PN ticket, Puli said the educational sector is facing serious pressures, many of which stem from the ongoing pandemic. 

PN electoral candidate Julia Zahra raised concerns over pending issues in student curricula that have been flagged by educators but not resolved by the ministry.

Certain subjects are not attracting enough students. And, even after they graduate, students are often not equipped with skills for critical thinking - an issue raised by a group of academics earlier this month.    

Some schools, Zahra said, had been “abandoned” and needed upkeep.  

The minister, she said, should have been focused on resolving these issues but was instead more concerned with giving her friend a high-paying contract.  

Stefan Caruana, a PN electoral candidate and an educator, condemned what he described as a premeditated act by minister Caruana. 

Is it possible, he asked, that the Auberge de Castille doesn’t have the courage to fight this type of corruption?

Wrapping up the press conference, Puli said the PN is proposing that a team of qualified experts be engaged to carry out the study into the national sports school which Bogdanovic had been abusively paid to do. 

He said the PN is aware that there is a keen interest in sports education, including in the private sector and the Opposition wants to facilitate this sort of discussion.   

The government, on the other hand, is more concerned with engaging incompetent people to map out plans for children’s future.  

Despicable that no action taken - ADPD

The Green party on Saturday shared the PN's concerns about the education sector. 

In a statement, Carmel Cacopardo, ADPD chairperson said the lack of action in what was a clear case of abuse, continued to put the country’s public administration in a bad light.

The 89-page standards report, ADPD said, provides a clear case of multiple ethics breaches by Minister Caruana.

"The fact that this happened by the minister responsible for our children’s education in collaboration with the highest civil servant within the ministry who should have prevented all this from happening adds to the severity of the matter," the party said. 

Cacopardo said that in such a crystal-clear case, it was "despicable" that no action has yet been taken.