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Matthew Vella
Novelist and headmaster Frans Sammut, a former consultant in Alfred Sant’s personal secretariat, is currently overseeing an empty school after students at San Guzepp Haddiem boys’ school in Marsa were evacuated following extensive damage caused by rain in September 2003, leaving behind Sammut in his role as head of a derelict school.
With Sammut, who is still being paid his scale six salary of Lm8,484, two other members report for work at the empty building which is currently undergoing extensive work to be converted into an asylum seeker reception centre. These are Anthony Vella, who is paid the salary of an assistant head of school at Lm7,888, and another employee Karmenu Buhagiar, who works as a caretaker.
San Guzepp Haddiem school, located in the notorious Albert Town district, a hotbed of prostitution, ceased to function as a school and all students and teachers were posted at the Floriana Ospizio boys’ school and Furtu Selvatico boys’ school in Naxxar. Teachers had staged a protest because the premises were not fit to be used as a school and all the workshops had asbestos roofing.
Education Division director general Dr Cecilia Borg said Sammut has been kept on to “help the San Guzepp Haddiem school close down”, when asked by MaltaToday to justify what seems to be a waste of resources.
“For a school to close down and have all its apparatus dismantled requires responsibility. The current work will later go under the co-ordination of a structure of boards. The plans show this work had to be completed in the first term. That way, in January Mr Sammut will be able to resume work at a school which is currently being managed by an assistant head.”
Contacted by MaltaToday, the author of novels like Samuraj and Paceville, said he was not “officially placed” at San Guzepp Haddiem, but also had other duties, whilst waiting for another placement.
Sammut said Anthony Briffa was taking care of the building, where there are a lot of rooms which are currently being dismantled.
“If there is another school that needs a head, I would go if the Education Division placed me. This is not the first time that a school operates without a headmaster.”
Sammut denied that his new ‘responsibilities’ had anything to do with a move by the Education Division to restrict the head of school from running a school, due to problems with his stewardship.
matthew@newsworksltd.com
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