Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1474484
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 27 JULY 2022 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 This reason was then dropped in the letter of dismissal. Mallia insists that the school was already aware of his political activism, which predates his employment. Contacted by MaltaToday just minutes after collecting his belongings from his of- fice, Mallia made it clear that he was fired. "I did not resign. I wanted to stay for the sake of students and staff," he said. Mallia expressed his pride in what was achieved in the past 16 years. "We pride ourselves on building a community of peo- ple who have a strong sense of belonging and fully participate in the running of the school. Our approach was not a top down managerial one but one based on dialogue based on the school ethos." He said he had no issues with the Order up until two years ago, saying educators had a free hand to run the school in line with its Christian ethos of inclusivity and social justice. Things changed upon the appointment of a new rector. Mallia said he was flab- bergasted by the Order's misgivings on his programme to have students of different faiths meet up, which he said is completely in line with Pope Francis' teachings in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti. Following a complaint, the school decided to pull the plug on this programme, "in an attitude which suggests that the school has a problem with diversity". The order insisted that Mallia should have asked permission before starting the educational programme. "Should I ask per- mission to practice the culture of inclusiv- ity which we preach?" Mallia asked. "The curriculum changes did not in any way im- pact religion lessons, which have not been reduced. In fact, to engage in dialogue it is also important to be informed about your own religion." In last month's warning, Mallia was also asked to apologise for wanting school staff on a non-executive board that liaises with the Order. Mallia insists he had nothing to apologise for, and that he was simply fol- lowing the school's ethos of dialogue and participation. Now unemployed, Mallia hopes that the school will "remain a community and a family" as it has been in the past years. Parents, teachers and academics ex- pressed dismay at the decision of the Do- minican Order. A co-founder of Alternat- tiva Demokratika, Mallia also served as the party's deputy chairperson and contested on the party's behalf in all elections since 1989 and has served as Head of St Albert College for the past. Church media announcement The announcement that Mallia "will not be returning to lead the college at the start of the new scholastic year" was made on Church media portal Newsbook, in a report which attributed the decision to replace Mallia to "differences in policies and man- agement issues". The report said that school rector Fr Aar- on Zahra, a Dominican, will be serving as acting-head. Mallia's term as head has been character- ised by an emphasis on social justice in line with the church's social teachings as well as a commitment for inclusion and dialogue with parents, teachers and students. In 2016, the school had offered its facil- ities to the Muslim community which at that time was forced to pray in public spac- es after being denied planning permits for a new place of worship. In 2019, the school opted out of the EU-funded fruit and vegetable scheme due to its contribution to plastic and other packaging waste. "We can't display the flag for being an eco-friendly school while sup- porting the use of many plastic containers, irrespective of whether these are recyclable. This is contradictory. We can't encourage reuse nationwide and at schools we throw away plastic containers," Mallia said. Mario Mallia graduated B.Ed (Hons) and M.Ed, and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Administration and Man- agement and a Diploma in Environmental Science. He was active for many years in a number of NGOs like Tan-Numri and was one of the founders of AD of which he still serves as deputy chairperson. Public reactions Mario Mallia's Facebook account was flooded by messages of solidarity by past and present school teachers and students. Andrew Azzopardi, dean for the Faculty for Social Welbeing, described Mallia as "one of the best and most dedicated educators he knows." A former student described him as a "vi- sionary" and a living testimony of inclusion. He invited the church authorities to talk to the staff and parents who were all part of a family. "This is a shameful decision espe- cially if the decision to fire him stems from the close-minded mentality of the Maltese church and has nothing to do with the edu- cation of children," the post read. Another former teacher described Mallia as "true leader that not only leads by exam- ple but practices what he preaches." "There was no gender, race, religion or ethnicity… he had an open-door policy and always had time for everyone be it staff or teachers". An ex-student called on the church au- thorities to "let the educators do their job and the rest stick to their pulpits." A parent called on the church to revoke this decision. "I am speaking out because of the good he did to my son and many others. I wish that other children will continue benefit- ting from his leadership… the college will be losing a man of principle and vision who thought us what inclusion means in prac- tice, that of belonging to a family albeit one which is not biological." College's response A lawyer representing the rector, acting head and board of St Albert the Great Col- lege sent the following in response to Malt- aToday's online article on Tuesday evening: The College of St Albert the Great de- clares that, contrary to the impression given by the article title 'School head who championed inclusivity fired by the Do- minicans', the crucial issue which regretta- bly led to Mr. Mallia's dismissal was not in any way related to his beliefs or to his posi- tion favouring inclusivity but, on the other hand, to his clear refusal to abide with the regulatory Statute which expressly provides which financial and other matters relating to the running of the College have to be ap- proved by the College Board. There were numerous instances were de- cisions which had or could potentially have a financial effect on the College and/or which involved the running of the College were taken by Mr. Mallia without due au- thorisation of the College Board as required by Statute. Duly warned, Mr. Mallia even refused to recognise the superior authority of the College Board as determined via the Statute itself which regulates the running of the College. Regrettably but justifiably, the Board de- termined that it could no longer work with a Headmaster who refuses to abide with the conditions of the Statute which regu- lates the running of the College which he is supposed to head and who chooses instead to operate unilaterally and without any ac- countability. The Board of St Albert the Great College has always had at heart all policies aimed at improving the lives of its students, their families and its educators alike, including policies of inclusivity as well as eco-friendly policies which it has always embraced and which it will continue to push forward in the years to come with the same vision and perseverance. Social justice focus of Mallia's term as head of school Seven cancer patients to be flown to Rome today School Rector Fr Aaron Zahra (pictured) will take over Mario Mallia's duties NICOLE MEILAK CANCER patients receiving ra- diotherapy in Malta will be recat- egorised according to the severity of their case, with the most urgent cases to be sent to a foreign hospi- tal, after a malfunction in the line- ar accelerators at the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centres. Last Monday, the health minis- try confirmed that radiotherapy services had to be temporarily sus- pended after technical difficulties among the linear accelerators. MaltaToday is informed that pa- tients impacted by the suspension will be categorised depending on the severity of their case, with the most urgent cases to be referred to a foreign hospital to receive their radiotherapy there. A ministry spokesperson con- firmed to MaltaToday that seven patients, considered as priority, will be flown to a hospital in Rome today. Government will be fund- ing all travel and lodging for the patient and for an accompanying person. Another tranche of patients is ex- pected to be flown out tomorrow. In a press statement on Monday, the ministry said that the centre's technical team established that the damage is reparable, with prepa- rations underway to carry out the necessary repairs. But MaltaToday understands that the issue is down to human error, after problems with the air conditioning system led to an over- heating of the linear accelerators. A medical linear accelerator is the device most commonly used for external beam radiation treat- ments for patients with cancer. It delivers high-energy x-rays or elec- trons to the region of the patient's tumour. The ministry also announced an internal inquiry board has been setup to determine what led to the faults. The Sir Anthony Mamo Oncolo- gy Centre received its first cancer patients for radiotherapy in 2015 after being fitted with two state-of- the-art linear accelerators that cost some €20 million.