Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/630594
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 JANUARY 2016 3 TIM DIACONO THE PN's harsh criticism of the Broadcasting Authority was the latest in a series of attacks on independent institutions which do not follow the party's politi- cal script, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said yesterday. The PN criticism against the BA was made in the wake of the BA rejecting on Friday a complaint filed by the Opposition over the New Year video message that featured Prime Minister Joseph Muscat meeting a young couple in a kitchen. The PN reacted to the BA re- jection by accusing the BA of "having failed to guarantee im- partiality as per its constitutional duty". Bonnici yesterday told a news conference outside the BA offic- es it had become clear that "the PN attacks institutions when- ever they disagree with their positions". "Independent institu- tions fulfil a crucial function in a democracy and their decisions must be respected." The minister also urged PN leader Simon Busuttil to give MP Claudette Buttigieg a warn- ing, after retired judge Alberto Magri refuted her claims that he was being pressured into prema- turely concluding an inquiry into abuse at the Addolorata Cem- etery. "Buttigieg's attack on a re- tired judge represents an attack on his authority, and hence on the sentences that he had hand- ed down throughout his judicial career," he said. He also argued that MP Jason Azzopardi had failed to shoulder political responsibility, despite a National Audit Office report having found there was "unwar- ranted intervention" on his part in the issuance of an encroach- ment permit for a garage in San- ta Lucija. "This is in stark contrast to how the government took immediate action by accepting the recent resignation of Michael Falzon as parliamentary secretary," he said. "The difference between the par- ties is that the government takes necessary action when faced with an institution's report, while the Opposition doesn't." Civil liberties minister Helena Dalli went even further back in time, recounting how former Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami had once dismissed the Ombudsman's criticism of po- litical interference into army promotions. "Fenech Adami had told the Ombudsman to become a politician if he wants to pass political comments." However, Bonnici refused to criticise Labour MP and former parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon for his comments on Saturday morning that people within the National Audit Office had manipulated the Gaffarena expropriation investigations for "political purposes". "Falzon has a right to his own personal opinion, but the two cases can in no way be compared because he had already shoul- dered political responsibility for the report by resigning," he said. "Resigning was an honour- able decision on Falzon's part. Previous Nationalist administra- tions had frequently brushed off damning NAO reports." When asked whether he or the government agreed with Falzon's serious accusations against the NAO, Bonnici said that the Au- ditor General would "undoubt- edly" take note of them and in- vestigate accordingly. PN accuses Muscat of 'attacking institutions that tell the truth' The PN in a statement accused Joseph Muscat and his Cabinet team of attacking institutions that tell the truth, arguing that both Muscat and Michael Falzon had "attacked the Auditor General's credibility and independence" when the Gaffarena report was published this week. It added that parliamentary secre- tary Ian Borg had attacked the Om- budsman when he had criticised his "devious methods" of obtaining a building permit for a farmhouse in Rabat. "Muscat and his inner circle are facing a corruption crisis and attack everyone who disagrees with them," the PN said. News PN 'attacks institutions that don't follow script' Request to publish schools' O-level tables, refused TIM DIACONO THE Information and Data Pro- tection Commissioner has upheld a refusal by the education ministry of MaltaToday's request for data showing how the students of indi- vidual schools fare in their O-level exams. Saviour Cachia claimed that the publication of such data risked stig- matizing low-performing schools, widening the education gap between public schools, and harming the business of independent schools. In so doing, Cachia backed educa- tion minister Evarist Bartolo, who had twice rejected this newspaper's Freedom of Information request on the ground that the data would lead to school league tables that risks stigmatizing and labelling teachers and students from low-performing schools. MaltaToday's counter-arguments were that withholding such data creates a barrier to free competition, that parents have a right to make an informed decision on where to send their children to school, and that publishing the data would ultimate- ly motivate low-performing schools to up their game. However, Cachia insisted that his role is limited to promoting transparency and accountability in government, and not force private schools to publish their O-level re- sults. "Whilst there is some interest by some parents opting to send their children to private schools, the in- formation regarding the MATSEC results of individual independent private schools can be obtained from the schools themselves, ac- cording to their policies," he wrote. As for state schools, Cachia argued that publishing their O-level results would only make it more difficult for low-performing schools to re- tain their best teachers "who tend to apply to highly ranked schools with fewer learning and behavioural problems", exacerbating the prob- lem. As Maltese students are posted to public schools, the Commissioner warned that placing such data in the open would ultimately come at the educational cost of children unfor- tunate enough to live in a locality that has a poor-performing school. "This will increase social segrega- tion and inequity in schooling, and all this would result in creating a negative stigma against schools which achieved lower results than other schools. "The Commissioner is of the opin- ion that the public interest is better served by not disclosing the results on a school by school basis, in the interest of the students and the edu- cation system as a whole." Justice Minister Owen Bonnici and Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli